


A Rito Is No Good At Romance

by KarkatVantabulous



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Gerudo Town, Goron, Goron City, M/M, Pre-Calamity, Rito, Rito Village, Selectively Mute Link, Slow Build, Zora - Freeform, Zora Domain, gerudo, it doesnt seem like revalink yet but trust me as more chapters are added the better it'll get
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-03 14:22:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11534046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarkatVantabulous/pseuds/KarkatVantabulous
Summary: Revali had been chosen to pilot a gigantic mechanical bird in the name of Hyrule. While he prepares himself to fight for the protection of Hyrule he couldn't help but  grow to loathe the destined Hero, Link. However as time passes and (as Revali is somewhat forced to spend time with Link) those feelings change to something less like hatred and something more...loving.





	1. Pilots For Hire

Being a Rito Warrior meant Revali had to go through merciless training regularly. He had to train not only his body to endure freezing cold temperatures far more extreme than the "stay at home" Rito could handle, but he also had to train his mind. Being a Rito Warrior meant that he would have to spend many lonely days doing nothing but spending his hours at the Flight Range shooting arrows at targets to make sure his perfect aim remained perfect. Being a Rito Warrior meant that he would train like there was a threat to the village and the only one who could stop it was him. Being a Rito Warrior meant he would protect his people for whatever the cost.

Yet despite all these things, Revali was being summoned by his village's elder to return at once. Revali shot a glare at the poor Rito who was sent to inform Revali that Kaneli needed him back. Sure, it wasn't the guy's fault but Revali was going to be mad at him anyway.

"Did the Elder at least explain what he needed me for?" The Rito Warrior asked in a rather annoyed tone as he secured his bow on his back.

"No, but I did see two Hylians with him. One of them was the Princess. Zelda is her name, I believe. The other...I don't know. He looked like some sort of soldier." Revali grunted and muttered a thank you before he extended his wings and flew off into the sky, heading back to the Rito Village. He flew a bit slower than his normal speed, he just wasn't in the mood to be interrupted in the middle of training for some kind of meeting with the Elder and supposedly the Princess of Hyrule. He supposed it was kind of an honor though, whatever it may be.

Revali landed gracefully on the platform and looked over to the Elder's home. He could already see the Princess in her royal blue gown and some other fellow who definitely did look like a solider. Now Revali was really wondering what was going on. He sighed and prepared himself mentally before he began walking to the Elder's room.

"Ah, what wonderful timing!" Kaneli smiled and gestured to Revali as he walked in. "I was just boasting about you my boy! Come! Allow me to introduce you!" Revali nodded stiffly as he silently stood besides Kaneli and faced the two Hylians. "Princess Zelda, meet Revali. A fine Warrior- the best there is!- and the most skilled archer in all of the Rito! His skills are most definitely something you'll need! He can create updrafts of air to boost his flying you know, something no other Rito can do!" Princess Zelda smiled and shook Revali's hand.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance Revali." Revali smiled politely and knelt down, bowing his head in respect. "As you know I am Princess Zelda. This here is my appointed knight, Link." Link nodded at the Rito warrior. "He's a very gifted fighter and a master with the sword."

"Pleasure to meet the two of you. Now I don't mean to seem rude but may I ask what I was called in for?" Kaneli laughed again and patted Revali's back.

"For a job! A wonderful opportunity for you to show off your amazing skills!" Revali raised an eyebrow questioningly. "These two have come to seek out the bravest, most skillful warriors in all the land! They've asked me handpick one of my finest warriors and I have chosen you." Revali nodded and was about to speak before Zelda spoke again.

"I'm not sure if you know this but my father has tasked the Sheikah tribe to find things on our ancestors regarding the ancient evil that forever torments our kingdom. We have found four mechanical creatures in each corner of our country and we're currently excavating smaller machines. Of the four creatures we found one in the Hebra region. Our scientists have discovered that this one is called Vah Medoh, one of four Divine Beasts." Zelda turned to Link and held out her hand, Link nodded and un-clipped a thin tablet with the Sheikah eye on it and placed it on her hand. Zelda turned the tablet on and showed Revali a picture of the Divine Beast that was displayed on the screen. "Vah Medoh is obviously a bird. With the information we have so far we know that this Beast can actually fly. We need a pilot for Vah Medoh to help us defeat the evil we know is quickly approaching and I was hoping you would accept the position."

Well now this certainly was flattering. The Princess of Hyrule was coming to Revali for help to pilot a piece of ancient technology crucial to Hyrule's safety. Revali knew that that wasn't the way to think of this situation but he just couldn't help it. He loved when people sought him out to acknowledge his skills in some way.

"Of course I will do it. It would be my honor to pilot Vah Medoh and help protect Hyrule as well as my village." The Princess smiled and did a small bow.

"Thank you, thank you so much. Now I'd like to run some things by you. First of which is that since you are the first of four pilots you have to accompany Link and I on the rest of our journey to find the next four. Second, once all four pilots are chosen my father has proclaimed that we all must train together. That will come later though so we don't have to dwell on that too much. Lastly, Link here is...well he is the most crucial part of our plan. While he is highly advanced in sword fighting he will need help in his archery. Since you are the most skilled archer there is you and he will have to train one-on-one for a while. But don't worry, he will be training in other areas as well. We just need him to be highly advanced with all sorts of weapons. I hope this isn't too much all at once."

"No no, not at all." Revali waved the worry away, smiling pleasantly. However on the inside he was squinting his eyes and staring at Link. What could be so special about this boy that learning every kind of weapon there is was a necessity? "I shall head to my home and pack some things then we can be on our way." The Princess nodded and walked off, her knight obediently following her. 

"Ohoho, Revali I'm glad you took the position. I have to say I was a bit unsure if you would."

"That's insulting. Of course I'd take the position to pilot a so-called Divine Beast. Better me than someone less capable." The Rito Warrior mumbled that last part as he began walking out of the Elder's home. He sighed and walked over to the nearby landing, flying up into the air and onto one of the rock pillars close to the Village. Revali liked the solitude of having his home a bit separated from the rest of the village, that and he enjoyed how the morning sun made the village look as beautiful as ever. 

Revali packed up some belongings in a bag that he mostly used when he went out into the Hebra mountains. He didn't have much to pack, just the necessities. Some scarves and extra pieces of armor along with a book or two and some necessary items to care for his beloved bow. With everything packed Revali slung the bag over his shoulder and flew right back to the Elder to say one last goodbye.

"Revali," Kaneli sighed as he proudly gazed down at the Rito Warrior, "I have watched you grow from a young boy barely learning to fly to a very skillful warrior. You have protected our people from countless enemies and proven your worth time and time again. I very proud of you." Revali smiled and bowed his head. "For your trip I have taken it upon myself to give you a small amount of rupees." Kaneli handed him a small pouch that was quite heavy. Revali opened it up to find that there was mostly gold and silver rupees inside. "Now I know it isn't much but I don't want you running out of supplies anytime soon." The Elder stood up slowly and gave Revali a hug. Revali reluctantly hugged him back (physical affection wasn't his thing but he never knew when he'd see Kaneli next). Kaneli let Revali go and told him once more how proud he was before the Rito Warrior and future hero of Hyrule left. 

The Princess and her knight were waiting by the stable. The knight- Link- was with tending to the horses attached to a carriage. Revali landed besides him. The smile put on Link's face by the presence of the horses vanished once Revali made his own presence known. Link nodded at the Rito Warrior, gave a horse one last pat before he turned to Revali and bowed his head.

"Don't let me stop you from tending to your pets." Revali muttered as turned back to look at the Rito Village. "Tell me Link, what's your role in all of this? Do you pilot a Divine Beast as well?" Link shook his head. "Oh, then what is it you do?" Link said nothing but he looked rather uncomfortable. Revali was about to open his beak and say something a bit rude about Link's silence when the Princess returned. 

"Sorry about the wait, I was asking for the quickest route to Zora's Domain. Hopefully King Dorephan has chosen someone already." Link helped Zelda into the Royal Carriage and held the door open for Revali who seemed unsure if he was exactly allowed in. "It's fine, Link is...Link will be fine out there, it is his job after all. Besides I have plenty of guards as well. This is your moment of relaxation before we begin our preparations." Revali nodded and stepped in, sitting a good distance away from Zelda. Link waited until the two were settled before he prompted the horses to begin walking.

There was silence between the two in the carriage. Revali didn't exactly know what to say or do really. He's never really had the opportunity to talk to Hyrule Royalty before and he wasn't the best at socializing either... Reavli sighed and looked around, he caught a glimpse at blond hair and a light blue earring. He found his topic.

"That boy, your knight, what is he?" Zelda tensed up at looked down at her hands. 

"He's the knight my father appointed to protect me. According to prophecies he is an important part of our plan to seal the darkness. I'd rather not explain too much of what he does right now, it'll be easier once we gather the others." Revali nodded. "...But I can...say certain things...for one...he doesn't talk as much as he did before. In fact he never talks. I don't know why but it's been frustrating. Communication is kind of important and not everyone understands sign language but whatever." Well that explained his silence from before. "He's been training nearly all his life to be a knight like his father. When he...proved himself to be something special my father assigned him to protect me as well as...other things. He lived out in Hateno Village but would constantly make a journey to Zora's Domain. His family owned a small farm of cows and has always had a love of animals."

"That seems rather personal information, Princess." 

"Yes well when someone as important as Link comes around we needed to know as much of him as possible." Revali nodded but that didn't stop him from believing that everything the Princess knew was a little creepy. 

The rest of the trip was spent mostly in silence. The two attempted to make small talk; talking about Revali's life, how he became a Rito Warrior, his daily training, his interests, etc. None of those conversations lasted too long. Finally after what felt like weeks they reached a point in their path where the horses could no longer pull the carriage along the path. They had to travel to Zora's Domain by foot. Not even five minutes of walking passed and Revali offered to carry the Princess on her back and and fly her straight to the Domain. She accepted the offer and Link had to take one of his many shortcuts to the Domain. 

When they arrived they were greeted by the young Zora Prince who was no older than seven. Surprisingly enough Link had beaten Revali and the young Prince tore his attention away from Link and whatever frog he caught on the way over to tell the Princess hello. Zelda smiled and asked the Zora Prince (Revali later learned his name to be Sidon) to please show her where his father was. Sidon happily took her hand and led the way. Revali and Link followed behind her.

"I'm impressed with how fast you made it here, Link." Revali mumbled, keeping his eyes straight. "I didn't expect you to get here so soon. There's nothing but mountains around here and I didn't see you climbing anything. How did you manage to get here?" Link shrugged and quickened his pace. Well so much for Revali trying to make some kind of effort to talk to him.

This meeting with the Zora went much like the meeting with the Rito. The King announced the one chosen to pilot the next Divine Beast, Vah Ruta, and then introductions were made. The chosen pilot was Princess Mipha. King Dorephan gloated of how much she was an expert in spear fighting and how her gift of healing would most definitely be something of use to them. Mipha already had her belongings, all that was left was the goodbyes. Mipha hugged both her brother and her father warmly, her brother being the more emotional one in this situation. Once Mipha let go and began walking over to the other three the young Zora Prince ran in front of her and hugged Link's leg. By now it was quite obvious to Revali that Link did in fact spend a lot of time here. With everything said and done the four of them went down the path and back to the carriage, they all climbed in and off they went to Gerudo Town in search of their next pilot.

Mipha seemed nice. Though Revali didn't deem her to be someone worthy to be fighting for Hyrule. She seemed too...quiet. She kept her voice low and it almost always sounded like she didn't want to upset anyone. She spoke only when directly spoken to and just didn't seem like much of a warrior. Then again she was classified as an expert fighter. Perhaps she was a monster out on the battlefield with her spear in hand. Revali decided he wouldn't try to judge her (or further his judgement) until he saw her put that Lightscale Trident to use.

When they finally arrived to a stable near the Gerudo Desert everyone was too tired to even consider crossing the desert. Zelda agreed to stay at the stable, she needed a good night's rest on a bed and not sitting up in a moving carriage. The kind stable workers allowed them to rest for free, Zelda accepted but Link knew how hard it was to tend to animals so he slipped them a silver rupee. The two Princesses fell asleep almost immediately. Revali was going to sleep but he noticed someone wasn't in any of the beds.

Link was outside with the horses, as expected. He sat on a wooden box and wrote in what appeared to be a journal. The only light he had to write with was that of a fire a good five feet away. When Revali found him like this he was kind of surprised. The Rito walked over and simply stood in front of Link. Link closed his journal, tucked it away in sack strapped onto a horse, and waved to Revali.

"What is it you're doing out here?" Link made some incredibly confusing hand signals that Revali only assumed to be sign language. "I don't speak or understand that." Link then took out  _another_ book and began writing in that. He lifted it up and read it aloud. "Protecting Zelda? We're in the middle of nowhere. Who will harm her?" He wrote in it again and lifted up the book. "It's my job to protect her from anything, even if there is no danger. Hm, well carry on I suppose." Link nodded and closed the book and turned to the horse. Revali didn't move. Link ignored him.

"Right, well. Have a goodnight." Revali muttered as Link nodded. That conversation was a complete disaster and he was quite sure he had just embarrassed himself. Great. Revali sat down in his bed and sighed looking outside. In a few hours he'd have to wake up and begin his journey across the desert to Gerudo Town. He thought of how nice it would be to fall asleep right now, covered in blankets and their warmth. But it was just that, a thought. He didn't get any sleep that night and when the sun rose and the new day began he was as tired as ever.

They managed to make it to the Kara Kara Bazar without anyone dying of heat stroke. Zelda insisted on stopping, Mipha needed to re-hydrate and Zelda had to take a bath and change into another dress. Revali didn't mind the break, it would be nice to get  out of this heat and have a nice meal. The rest and relaxation only lasted a couple hours but Revali more energized than before. Before long they stopped in front of Gerudo Town. 

The Gerudo Chief, Urbosa, walked out. Zelda explained that she was there for the next pilot of Divine Beast Vah Naboris. Urbosa wasted no time in announcing that she would do it herself. Zelda was shocked to say in the least. Urbosa let Zelda try to convince her to stay and assign someone else- perhaps a warrior? A soldier?- but Urbosa explained that her duty as Chief was to protect her people and helping fend off evil was the best way to do so, besides, her lightning abilities could work wonders for the team. The Gerudo Chief assigned a younger Gerudo (who Revali assumed to be Urbosa's daughter but he wasn't too sure) to manage to their people while she was away. Urbosa invited both Mipha and Zelda into the town but Link and Revali had to stay out due to their "no voe law". 

The two of them were left alone yet again and Revali was beginning to feel like this would happen a lot. They were silent for a long time, Revali was, of course, the one to break this awkwardness. 

"Will you ever talk? It's getting to be rather annoying to be the only one attempting to talk." Link looked over at Revali and grinned. Much to Revali's annoyance Link took out his book, scribbled in it and showed his answer off to Revali. 

_"Not in a hundred years."_

The Rito rolled his eyes and decided to ignore the Hylian for the rest of his time there. 

A good hour later and the three came out of Gerudo Town. Urbosa properly introduced herself to both Revali and Link and with that they all ventured back to the Gerudo Canyon Stable. 

Their next stop was Goron City. No one was looking forward to that meeting, especially not Mipha. Once they reached the Foothill stable Mipha tested the fireproof elixir on herself (her being a Zora meant that any sort of small contact with extreme heat like that of Death Mountain's would most likely fry her) but sadly it didn't seem to work. Urbosa suggested having a traveling Goron fetch the Goron Boss and his chosen pilot, Zelda thought that to be unprofessional but she agreed.

They waited for a few hours at the stable, it was around dusk when the traveler returned with another Goron. This new Goron introduced himself to be Daruk, The Goron Boss. He had chosen himself to be the pilot of the next Divine Beast, Vah Rudania. His reasoning for this was similar to that of Urbosa's, he wanted to protect his people and all of Hyrule. He also mentioned he had some sort of protection power. Zelda didn't argue with Daruk but silently hoped he placed someone capable in charge of the Gorons while he was absent. 

Now that all pilots were chosen Zelda made the announcement that it was time to stop by one more place before returning to the castle. She looked over to Link and he nodded, preparing the horses for the trip. As they climbed into the carriage Mipha asked where they were heading. With a sigh, Zelda spoke. 

"The Lost Woods where the sword of legend- The Master Sword- lays deep in the heart of it. We're going so Link can...begin his duty of becoming the ancient hero of Hyrule."


	2. Hyrule Castle

"The Legend of the Hero of Hyrule is something that has been told to me time and time again. " Zelda sighed as she began explaining more on why they were heading to the Lost Forest. The royal carriage was rather small and Revali was being smushed by the giant boulder that was Daruk. He was in pain but he tried to focus on Zelda's story. "Princesses throughout Hyrule History have shared my name, each one possessing the blood of the Goddess Hylia and the power to seal the darkness. Ever since I was a young girl, around six years old, I've been training to access this power in hopes of fulfilling my predetermined duty. But now I'm fifteen and yet nothing has happened...it's quite discouraging in all honesty. Anyway, in the ancient legends Link's duty is to face this evil one on one. The sword lost in the forest was specially made by the Goddess Hylia herself. This sword- and an ancient bow with magical arrows- is the thing that can weaken him. Without those two crucial weapons we cannot hope to damage any sort of evil...and without my sealing power then we have no hope at all in protecting the kingdom from falling. The two things really go hand in hand. Once Link has the Master Sword I just...need to train more and pray to the Goddesses that I soon access my power..."

The royal carriage was deathly silent, the only noise that was really heard was the clip-clop of the horses outside. Mipha reluctantly patted Zelda's knee. The two princesses exchanged an awkward sort of smile. Ugh. This was too heavy for Revali.

"If you don't mind," Revali tried to wiggle his away from between Daruk and the wall, "I'd like to get out and stretch my wings. Besides, if what you're saying of this boy's destiny is true then we can't have him getting killed out there because he was suddenly overwhelmed with monsters." He pushed the carriage door open and nearly fell out, thankfully this Rito was faster. He saved himself by flapping his wings and keeping himself afloat  for a second before he safely landed on the ground. He shut the carriage door and quickly made his way around to where Link was sitting. Only Link wasn't sitting.

"What are you doing?" Link looked up from the two horses he was focusing on. He had too many apples in his arms and was trying to feed the horses as they walked. Link himself was walking backwards quite expertly, he didn't seem to be stumbling at all. Link looked down at the apples then cocked his head over to the two horses. "This is perhaps the worst time to try to feed them." Link shrugged and continued offering them apples.

"You know you can at least act like a soldier right now." The Rito Warrior grumbled as he clambered onto the coachman's seat. Link didn't answer (not like Revali expected him to) but he continued with the horses. He sure did seem to enjoy the horses. Revali began dosing off after a little while but was abruptly yanked out of his sleep when Link jumped back onto the coachman's seat and offered the Rito an apple. He took it and sighed, it had been a while since he had eaten and he was starting to feel a bit peckish...

"So," Revali began as he swallowed a bite of the apple, "Zelda has been telling that you're some sort of mystical savior sent down by the Goddesses. You must be quite the celebrity among the Hylians." Link shrugged, clearly tensing up. "Something the matter? In my opinion I'd be honored to be hand-plucked by the Goddesses to save everyone. You have to have some true skill." Link's ear twitched and he nodded, silently hoping Revali would leave it at that. Revali wasn't as rude as most people painted him to be. He saw how uncomfortable Link was and he let the subject go.

"Do you have a horse of your own or do you just love every single one you come across?" The smile on the Hylian's face returned as his favorite subject was brought up: animals. Link wrapped the reigns around his wrist and began signing frantically but remembered that Revali understood nothing. He reached over to a sack strapped to the horse, pulling out the same book as before. He began scribbling in it like mad and showed the result to Revali.

"You've had a horse since you were a young boy and it's name is...Milk?" Revali made a rather un-amused face but continued reading. "But that horse recently passed- my condolences- and your father has given you a new one as a congratulatory gift of being assigned to be the Princess's appointed knight." Revali set the book between the two of them when he finished. "Well...that certainly explains a lot. You do seem to love horses more than your own well being." Link chuckled. This was, perhaps, the first noise Revali has heard him make. It sounded oddly young... "If it isn't too personal, may I ask how old you are?" Link wrote two numbers in the air. 17.

"My, you're...pretty young...and the Princess is only fifteen..." Revali wasn't much older himself but the couple of years that separated he and Link made some difference, to him at least. Perhaps it just had to do with the difference in Rito and Hylian culture? Maybe Hylians allowed those in their younger years when they weren't fully mature to protect the entire Kingdom? Link was just a teenager and he was tasked a job as important as protecting Zelda and pretty much saving the world? This seemed like a bit too much strain on such a young man.

The rest of the ride was silent. It was thankfully a comfortable silence. Link hummed a nice tune along the ride and Revali was able to relax. He liked being outside and watching the scenery rather than being tangled in a heaping mess of feelings and being squashed by a Goron. Link was pleasant company as well. He didn't annoy Revali and that was all he needed. They arrived at the Woodland Stable and left the carriage there. The horses needed a good break and Zelda said it would be useless to go in a carriage. The Lost Woods was covered in a fog so thick that you could barely see your own hands. The group walked together; Mipha and Link in the front with Zelda, Urbosa, and Daruk in the back. Revali took it upon himself to fly into the air and simply scan the perimeter. There wasn't anything interesting other than the Military Training Camp and, of course, the thick fog of the Lost Woods. He did see a giant tree with beautifully pink leaves however, he wondered what that was.

When the reached the very edge of the woods they all saw torches. None of them were lit. Zelda nudged Link forward and he obliged. He stepped into the woods and stayed still. A moment passed and his ear twitched. He looked to his right and began walking, motioning for the others to follow.

"It is said that no mere traveler could navigate through the forest. There is a certain path you must take or else you will be blinded by the fog and the Children of the Forest will return you to the start. Link has been here only once before in his life, when he was a young boy. Of course that was years ago. The Master Sword is said to have a voice inside of it, a spirit that the Goddess placed in there, Link has admitted to hearing the voice. That is how I believe he is able to navigate through the woods so easily." Zelda finished her explanation and hopped over root. Link pretended as if he hadn't just heard Zelda loudly talk about him.

"Oh! And these Children of the Forest- Koroks I believe they're called- have a tendency to carve faces into the trees. It makes them feel less lonely. You see not everyone can see them. No one really understands why but they don't allow themselves to be see by just anyone. It's quite confusing but fascinating. Maybe one of us will have the honor of seeing one!" As they ventured deeper in the four pilots could see what Zelda was talking about. In the dark and mist the carved out faces in the hollow trees looked less welcoming and friendly than what the Koroks were probably going for.

"Are we anywhere near the end, little guy?" Daruk questioned as he looked around nervously. Revali found it amusing that someone as gigantic as he was feeling intimidated by a bunch of trees. "Not that I'm trying to rush you...just really excited to see you pull that sword out of its stone!" That was a lie, everyone could hear the hint of uneasiness in Daruk's gruff voice. Link stopped and turned around, pointing behind him to a giant hollow tree that was resting on its side. A sigh of relief escaped the Goron Boss as he walked with the others through the tree. Link was the last one in.

"Ah, I have been expecting you." A voice bolstered out. "Step forward, young hero." Revali and Daruk both jumped in surprise as the gentle voice boomed out. Mipha tapped both of them and pointed to the gigantic tree Revali had seen earlier. His eyes widened. He had heard of the Deku Tree in stories before but he never expected to see it in person. "I see you have brought along some friends. Princess Zelda, how nice to finally meet you. As well as the rest of you." Zelda smiled and bowed but stayed silent. The others nodded politely, staring in awe.

"I can only assume you have come to reclaim your weapon. My my, it has been quite some it was in the grasp of its master. Quite some time indeed. It seems like just yesterday when I was tasked to watch over this divine blade. Come now, my boy. Take your weapon in hand and solidify your destiny!" Link gulped and nodding, making his way over to the sword.

It happened faster than expected. Link took a hold of the swords magnificent handle, closed his eyes, and pulled. By instinct Link raised the sword high into the air. It began flowing a bright blue and that same blue traveled down Link's arm and seeped into his body. He looked confused for a second but then he was suddenly swinging the weapon around like a professional. The sword itself glowed more and more until Link lowered it. His already blue eyes seemed to be glowing the same color as his weapon but that went away almost as soon as it appeared. The Great Deku Tree murmured something about a special sheath for the sword, a Korok would give it to him if he just stepped into his navel. Link did as told and a moment later he stepped out with beautiful cover for his new weapon. Their business there was done.

They were returning to Hyrule Castle this time. For an entire two days they were allowed a small "break" before they began their training. Revali was rather eager to get to Hyrule Castle as fast as possible, he was tired and wanted to just lay down for a good twenty hours or so. He also hated to admit it but he wanted to see that magical goddess blade up close. Some kind of weapon that has been used for thousands of years by countless heroes had to be divine at the very least, and now Revali had the opportunity to actually see this sword of legend. His feathers were fluffing out just thinking of such an oppurtunity.

Hyrule Castle was bigger than expected. As Revali circled the Castle he was beginning to think he'd get lost in this gigantic building. Rito Village was certainly easier to navigate...and it was definitely smaller. He landed gracefully by the Royal Carriage. Link was already knelt down with his head bowed as he held the door open for the Royalty inside. Revali stayed out and waited for the others to gather around. Another soldier walked up to Link and took the carriage away as Zelda instructed her knight to show the pilots to their rooms. Link did as told.

The Hylian Knight was quieter than usual which was shocking. How could someone who doesn't speak be  _quieter_ than normal? Maybe it had to do with the fact that Link didn't even sign a simple 'goodnight' as  he held the door open for the pilots as they tiredly dragged themselves into their room. Maybe it was because the light expression on his face was replaced by something that seemed darker, almost like Link wanted to frown but he was trying his best to hide it. 

He was the last one to be showed to his room. The silence between them was annoying and Revali was just about ready to loudly complain but he didn't. He was in  the castle where the possibility of any member of the royal court would walk in on the supposed pilot that was defending the Kingdom complaining over no small-talk as he was being led to his room. That would be pathetic. 

"So," Revali cleared his throat, "I'm surprised you haven't been flaunting that sword you're carrying around. If I were you I'd show the thing off. Especially since its the sword of legend." Link shrugged and lifted his hands. He began signing something but stopped after a second. "Well glad to see you remembered I don't understand a single thing you say when you're doing your silly little sign language." They reached the door to his room (thank Hylia) and Link held it open as he did with the others. 

"Well, goodnight I suppose." Link nodded, waving slightly. Well...at least it was more than what the other pilots got. He stepped into his room and it felt  like legs were about to give in. He didn't realize how tired he really was. The bed looked comfortable (thankfully) and he almost immediately jumped in. As he began dozing off a rather loud knock awoke him. He assumed it would be one of the other pilots or even Zelda. Rubbing his eyes, Revali opened the door. There was no one out in the hallway. He went to take a step out to examine the hallway when he stepped on something. It was a gift of sorts that was wrapped. Curiously, Revali picked the object up and returned to his room, wondering what it would be. Perhaps some sort of honorary medallion for helping protect Hyrule (unlikely, he hadn't done anything yet)? A gift from the Rito Elder? Perhaps something from the King himself? 

It was a book on sign language.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry I took so long to update! I had a paper due for a class but thankfully that's done!   
> Also sorry for the sloppy chapter :( because of the paper i couldn't really put all that I wanted in this chapter. But don't worry! It'll only get better from here! Stay tuned and I hope you enjoyed this update!


	3. Fireflies

"I have taken the liberty of creating a schedule for our planned activities." Zelda passed around a small stack of papers around the table to the eating champions. "Each day we will focus on different forms of training and hopefully each day we will improve all your already miraculous skills. You will all also learn new battle techniques- or so I'm told- and work on your team work. I have requested that copies of this be made and sent to your rooms so don't worry too much on forgetting."

"Geez..." Daruk scratched his head as he looked over the plans. "Looks like we got a full plate for the next few months."

"Yes, well, we must be ready for any sort of attack and training is the best way to prepare." Urbosa nodded in agreement as she handed Revali the stack of papers. He sighed and set his fork down, shuffling through their planned schedule. It was...well, Revali got a headache just by looking at it. It was set up as a chart, each of their names at the top and the dates in each of the little boxes along with the training for that day and the location. It was mostly filled minus a couple empty boxes (presumably their days off) scattered around but as the Rito Champion continued to look through the training schedule he noticed something. Link had no day off, not even today! It was kind of surprising, if he was the supposed hero he deserves at least one day off from constant training, but no. Not a single day off.

"None of you have to worry about this today though. After all it is your day off." Zelda smiled and stood up. "Explore the Castle, Castle Town, neighboring villages or the nearby ranch. Do as you please and I shall see you all tomorrow." As the Princess walked away Revali handed the papers to Mipha and stacked his plates.

"Well this was certainly a wonderful breakfast and all but if I'm not going to have a proper day off until two months from now then I'm going to go cherish every second of this day." The others grunted and bade him a goodbye as the Rito walked out the huge double doors and flew out into the open air. He didn't have to travel far to his desired location, it was just down the path. Revali landed gracefully just outside the gate that lead to an old ranch that has been in Hyrule for years. The name was long forgotten so most people have begun calling it Hyrule's Ranch.

_"HYAH!"_  Dear Hylia, Revali almost screamed as Link's loud grunt came almost out of nowhere. The Rito tried his best to smoothen his ruffled feathers as he watched the Hylian Knight zoom around the small and worn out track that circled the old ranch. This was part of Link's training, he had to perfect horse riding meaning he had to make the poor creature go as fast as possible and avoid falling over when making sharp turns. That wasn't all. Link also had to master the art of jumping off a moving horse, land perfectly while avoiding injuring himself, and stand back up a second later to fight. The Hylian knight (who was too engrossed in his training to notice Revali watching him) demonstrated this very move. He quickly led his racing horse out of the worn down track and into the small land it was surrounding only to leap off the still moving horse and land as perfectly as possible.

Link failed that part.

As he launched himself off his running horse, Link was a moment too slow in extending his arms to perform a simple roll. He fell on his face, his sword narrowly missing him as it flew through the air and landed besides his head. Now Revali would've gone rushing to help but a young white haired woman (most likely a member of the Sheikah Clan) ran up before the Rito could react. She scolded him for failing to perform the maneuver and reminded him he had to stay focused. Meanwhile Link looked dazed and his nose was broken and bleeding. While the Sheikah woman continued to lecture him she opened up a small, pink bottle with crystal wings and slathered some of the tonic onto Link's injured nose. Within a minute he was fully healed and climbing on to his horse for another try.

This went on for quite some time. Revali didn't mind watching Link, it was quite interesting. Every time the poor Hylian attempted to perfect the one move he needed to master for the day he failed. It didn't seem too difficult to the graceful Rito- landings were one of his trademarks!- then again he never has tried to jump off a horse moving at such a high speed. For a better part of his morning Revali sat on the sidelines quietly, watching Link crash and burn. Some of his failures were quite funny, at one point Link underestimated how fast his horse was going and when he flung himself forward he went sliding along the ground.

All of Link's morning- and most of the early afternoon- was spent being thrown around by his horse and immediately healing broken bones or potentially dangerous cuts. When he finally perfected the supposedly crucial maneuver he had to perfectly execute it another ten times so his instructor could be confident in knowing he knew it.

As the Hylian Knight was panting and resting his sore body, dabbing a small cloth on his face to soak up the sweat, Impa walked on over to him. He immediately stood tall but went back to his relaxed form when she waved his hand. She was the head of the Sheikah Clan and Link's instructor. It was really and honor, never in his life did he think he'd be taken under the wing of such an elite Sheikah. Though it did (and still does) throw him off when he first learned how young she was.

"You're free for the rest of the day. Great job out there." The Sheikah member leaned up against the wooden fence of the ranch as Link smiled gratefully. "I suggest returning to the castle and sleeping the rest of the day but..." Impa trailed off and glanced in Revali's direction for just a second, "the way that Rito has been watching you try and fail to jump off a horse for hours gives me the impression you won't be resting." Link tilted his head and raised an eyebrow before he peered over Impa's shoulder and saw who she was talking about. "Have fun." Impa waved and began walking off. "I'll be sure to inform Zelda of your improvement." Link nodded and stood up as well, making his way towards Revali.

The Rito Pilot, however, didn't find this as a lovely opportunity to wind down after a vigorous day of intense training like Link did. No, instead he thought of this as embarrassing. Hylia, he was caught gawking at Link as he trained. It probably would've been acceptable to stop after the first five or so minutes but  _no_ _o_ _o_ , Revali just had to continue watching. God he felt like such a creep.

_"Revali!"_  Link's voice was disgusting and raspy but something about it made Revali's heart skip a beat. Maybe because this was the first time he had actually heard him speak? Maybe because his voice was actually pretty gross sounding due to the lack of use? Maybe something else? Who knew. Link jogged on over to his Rito friend, a large smile plastered on his tired face.

"My my, I must admit I'm somewhat surprised to hear you actually talk instead of trying to wave your hands in the air while I remind you that I don't understand sign language." Link chuckled and shrugged. "Oh what, are you going back to silence so soon?" The Hylian nodded and began pulling something out of his small bag. It was the book he carried around for communication purposes. Revali rolled his eyes as Link scribbled on the blank page and proudly presented it to Revali. "So you were only speaking to get my attention because I looked distracted?" Link nodded. "Well, if I want to get a decent conversation out of you I might as well become distracted more often." Link snorted, rolling his eyes. 

The Hylian Knight led his Rito friend away from the ranch and down the dusty path. Once they passed the castle Revali began questioning where they were headed. Link waved his questions away and continued leading his friend farther and farther away from the castle. After Revali complained for the billionth time that Link was taking time away from his precious day off, Link stopped and motioned to the area around them. 

"Oh come on." Revali looked around disappointingly at the jumble of trees surrounding them and simulating a miniature forest. "These are all over Hyrule. I was honestly expecting something more exciting." Link rolled his eyes and pulled out his book. "You can just, oh I don't know,  _speak_." The Hylian shoved the book in Revali's face. He sighed and read whatever Link wrote. "Wait until night. No, I refuse to wait until night for whatever in Hylia's name it is you want to show me. I am a very busy person and I do not have time for this." As Revali extended his wings and knelt down, Link jumped in front of him. 

"If you  _really_ were a busy person," Link cleared his throat and resumed speaking, "You wouldn't of spent the better part of your day watching me." Revali paused for a second, saying nothing, then he sighed. 

"Fine." He stood up with a defeated sigh. "I'll stay out here until night. But I expect some interesting conversation to keep me entertained." Link nodded. He fully intended to keep that promise but that didn't exactly mean he would speak like he imagined Revali meant. 

The rest of the day passed and Link did keep his promise. He and Revali had rather interesting conversations. Mostly about Revali. Link admitted to the fact that the first time he had ever been to Rito Village was when he and Zelda went to recruit the pilots for whatever machine the old Sheikah have made. Well now that got the Rito started. Revali spent hours basically  _gushing_ about his home village. Link listened to every detail Revali used to paint how beautiful the sunrises were when sitting on that specific spot atop the giant rock the village attached itself to or how peaceful evenings were as the villagers settled back into this homes and the birds sang their last song for the night. The Rito sighed happily as he recalled the many wonderful memories he had back in his home. He hadn't realized how long it had been since he was last there...in his own bed, waking up at the crack of dawn to peacefully fly to the Hebra Region for some target practice. 

Link elbowed Revali and yanked him out of his nostalgia. Revali blinked and shook his head slightly before his focus returned. Link held a single finger up to his lips for a moment before he pointed just a few feet in front of where they were sitting. A group of small fireflies had appeared, a few pink fairies with them. While admittedly these glowing creatures were beautiful, Revali just wasn't impressed. He's seen them, and fairies, before. 

Link held a finger out and one brave firefly flew on over and perched itself onto his finger. The Hylian grinned and slowly brought his hand closer to his body. The other fireflies followed the lead of their friend and flew on over to the two of them. While most didn't land on Link they did fly lazily around him. The fairies soon joined and flew circles just above Link's head. The Hylian looked up at Revali, smiling widely. In that moment Revali swore he had never seen something- or someone- more beautiful than Link.


	4. Vacation: Part I

Trainings had become more difficult as time went on. Individual trainings with the most elite members of the Sheikah Tribe were horrible, Revali has never flown so much in such a short amount of time! He hadn't shot so many arrows in a single day either. By the time those sessions were over and done with the poor Rito Champion could barely even fly back to Hyrule Castle.

Link's sessions were no easier, in fact it seemed like he was getting even more physically and mentally exhausting work than the other champions! Every evening as the four pilots slowly made their way to their temporary home inside the castle walls, they could see Link, still swinging his legendary sword around. The Hylian Champion didn't stop till late at night when the moon was up at its highest. This, of course, caused some worry in the group. On one of their shared days off, Mipha confessed to the others that she felt as if Zelda pushed Link too hard. Urbosa agreed but stated that Link was the other half of the major plan to seal Ganon away. Daruk piped in, hoping Link wouldn't collapse out of exhaustion. Revali stayed silent, as always.

Time had passed since he and Link's little night together. They hadn't really spoken- or signed- to each other since then. Because of this, Revali had some conflicting feelings. Yes, he was glad that both of them were training hard but on the other hand he was somewhat scared that Link  _was_  being pushed too hard.

" _No_." Revali shut his book rather quickly. "He's the best swordsman in all the kingdom and he's been assigned to protect the princess of Hyrule. His practices are  _fine_. Something to be expected out of someone of his...background." He closed his eyes and pushed his chair away from the desk he was sitting at. Today was one of his few days off (it was especially exciting since he had  _two_  days off in a row, the princess explained that she needed all of her resources for her own personal "training" so the Champion's sessions would be put off for an extra day) and he planned on spending it alone in his room. Reading was something he was looking forward to doing. Its been a while since he was able to actually able to read something and luckily the Hyrule Castle library was filled with interesting books. He found a few on the history of the Rito so he planned on spending the day reading. 

That was until Link began infesting his mind.  _Again_.

Revali groaned and stared at the words in his book, trying his very best to concentrate. But alas, his efforts were futile. Soon enough he caught himself wondering what Link was up to, if he was okay. 

"You know what,  _fine_." Revali spat angrily. He was, of course, talking to himself. He stood up and grabbed the books, shoving them under his wing. He practically stomped the whole way to the library, confusing and frightening the people he bumped into in the hallways. When the books were neatly returned to their places on the shelves, he sighed angrily and walked outside. If he wasn't going to enjoy his day off in complete solitude then he might as well succumb to his thoughts and see what Link was up to. Whatever, it didn't matter anyway. He always had tomorrow.

He soared up to the sky and began circling the castle, keeping his eyes peeled for a particular blond hylian. He nearly crashed into a tower when he finally spotted Link sparring with Impa. The Sheikah woman was fighting against Link, a Royal Guard's Claymore in hand. Although her attacks were considerably slow, Link still had a hard time dodging the gigantic weapon. 

Revali landed nearby, neither of the two stopped. He should've expected as much, Link's training wouldn't end just because he appeared! Hylia, now he was stuck here. He awkwardly adjusted his scarf and looked around.

The two continued their training for some time, Link didn't glance at Revali once. Which was understandable, in battle you couldn't be distracted. A single glance at something or someone that wasn't your opponent could cost you your life. Eventually Link lost the battle. He was obviously tired and could barely keep his sword up, this caused his defense to slack and gave Impa the opening she needed to hit Link in the chest with the flat side of her claymore. The poor hylian Champion was knocked to the side and against a training dummy. With the little energy he had left, Link pulled himself up and held his weight up with his sword.

Impa spent the next ten to fifteen minutes both scolding and praising Link. Telling him where he went right and wrong. She gave him more tips and tricks, recommended that during his solo practices he practice longer so he would get used to long battles. At the end of her conversation, she rewarded Link with a surprising bit of news, he would have tomorrow free as well. Impa had managed to convince the King that Link needed a break- Zelda would be fine as long as she was by the Sheikah leader's side. 

Link smiled and thanked his friend. She patted his shoulder, wished him good luck, and walked away. Link watched her go and when she was completely out of sight, he collapsed from exhaustion. This was Revali's que to rush over and help the poor tired champion.

"You know," Revali grunted as he propped Link up against the training dummy, "I'm starting to believe that maybe the Princess is torturing you. Just a little." Link smiled weakly and shrugged. He didn't have the energy to respond which Revali didn't mind. "Come on then, let's get you to a bed." The Rito Champion half-dragged Link back into the castle and through it's many hallways. He had decided to take Link to his own room considering Link's room was, for some reason, in the lower levels of the castle while Revali's room was closer to the library and Link didn't look like he could stay upright for much longer.

They finally made it to Revali's room and Revali had to help Link up into the hammock he was using for a bed. Link let out a relaxed sigh and he dropped his sword on the ground. As tired as he was he still held his arms up in the air and signed a thank you to Revali.

"No need to thank me," Revali said as he moved Link's legendary sword to the side, "I was only doing what any decent person would do." Link laughed and Revali felt the smallest hint of a smile threatening to appear. "And by the way, you'll be happy to know that in the very little time that I had to myself I learned some more sign language so communication will be a bit easier now though I cannot claim I'm an expert yet." Link slowly turned over and smiled widely. It was at that moment that Revali noticed exactly how tired and worn out Link was. He had dark circles under his eyes as well as bags and bags under  _those_  bags, a new facial scar had popped up just under his left eye and it seemed to go all the way to his jaw, his hair looked like it hadn't been combed in weeks. Ugh, Revali was disgusted.

_"Revali?"_  Link signed, tilting his head as best he could in his current position. The Rito Champion said nothing to Link but began angrily muttering to himself. He paced for a minute, looked back at Link, and paced for a minute more. Finally, the Rito began gathering his things and spoke.

"You and I are going on a mini-vacation for the rest of today and tomorrow." Link blinked but before he could question the other, Revali continued. "You have a day off tomorrow and I miss my home. You need a serious rest and what place better than the Rito Village. Now hurry up and get down from there so we can get going as soon as possible. Hopefully I will be able to fly us over there before sunset but...well, we'll see." Link was confused for a moment, he wasn't sure if he had heard Revali correctly. Then when he realized Revali was standing there, ready to go and waiting for Link to hop down, Link smiled widely and summoned whatever energy he had to hop down from the hammock and grab his sword. 

"Now I don't know if you'll be comfortable," Revali began as Link climbed onto his back. They had stopped by the dining hall to grab some food before walking outside. Revali was bent over slightly, wings outstretched and ready, Link was trying his best to find a good position to hold onto his Rito friend. "...but this is all you have. I'm not that much taller than you after all." Link nodded and made a thumbs up to show that he was ready. "Hang on tight, if you happen to fall to your death while I'm in the air I won't be taking responsibility." Link chuckled and nodded. The next moment they were being launched into the air by the winds of Revali's Gale. When he felt he was at a good height, Revali stabilized himself and began a steady flight towards the Rito Village. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhh after months I've updated!!  
> sorry for the wait, i was swamped with schoolwork and college apps!!


	5. Vacation: Part II

As predicted they arrived at the Rito Village just as the sun was beginning to fall behind the mountains. Revali had so graciously allowed Link to take a short nap on his back while he flew them over but now the Rito was stuck with a sleeping Hylian who refused to wake up. He sighed and decided to simply accept his fate rather than stand on the landing and yell at him to open his eyes, he was only making himself look like an idiot.

With Link clinging onto his back and snoring peacefully, Revali began walking down the stairs to make his way to his home. It was a miracle, Revali thought, that Link managed to not let go at all throughout their entire trip. He was asleep too! The Rito sighed and decided it was probably best not to question where Link had gotta such a...weirdly unique skill. Instead he distracted himself with plans for the next twenty-four hours. Revali didn't know what to do first, he honestly missed the Flight Range but on the other hand the Tabantha Region was beautiful and Link could use a change of scenery. Plus fighting and archery and all that probably wasn't the best option when the whole reason for the two of them being here was to get away from training.

Link groaned in his sleep and inadvertently nuzzled the back of Revali's neck. Oh Hylia, it was embarrassing enough that the great Master Revali, Champion and Pilot of Divine Beast Vah Medoh was carrying a hylian on his back but now said hylian was grumbling cutely and nuzzling his neck? Link was seriously trying to ruin Revali's reputation.

Revali let out a content sigh when he finally made it inside of his home. He, yet again, hoisted Link onto his hammock and took a second to stretch. Not even a minute after Revali had let Link go, the hylian's eyes snapped open. He sat up quickly and looked around. For a moment he had forgotten where he was but then he remembered: Revali had taken him to the Rito Village for some much needed rest. Link let out the breath he was holding in and relaxed. The village was a bit colder than he remembered.

"I see you're finally awake." Revali said as he stretched, his back cracking rather loudly. "We've made it in time to have a decent dinner and maybe even chat a bit before sleep. Hylia, which reminds me I need to find another hammock and-" He stopped mid sentence and looked up at the hylian in his bed. His feathers fluffed up slightly, not so much that Link would notice. "...We'll figure out the sleeping situation later." Link shrugged and rubbed his hands together, his cheeks were starting to sting because of the cold.

Revali sighed dramatically and began pulling off his Champion's Scarf. He handed it to Link, who looked at it then at Revali in confusion.

"Because I am so very generous I will let you wear my scarf so you can fight off the cold." Link smiled and signed a quick thank you before he put the scarf on. "I'll be back, I need to run a quick errand. You stay here." Link nodded and eased back into the hammock as Revali rushed out. First he was going to the Slippery Falcon just to buy some ingredients for the meal he was planning to prepare. Then he had to stop by the Brazen Beak and purchase the snow quill outfit- he couldn't let Link freeze to death!- before returning home and making home change. Then he would go to the village's kitchen area and prepare the lavish meal he had in mind.

Things did not go as planned, however.

When Revali rushed into the Slippery Falcon in search of some very specific ingredients, the current worker sadly informed him that the things he were looking for were out of stock but Revali was more than welcome to what they did have! The stubborn Rito refused, insisting that it  _had_  to be those specific things, before begrudgingly leaving and heading over to the Brazen Beak. It turned out that that store was also bent on ruining Revali's evening. They had everything except the headdress available. Revali groaned but bought what he could.

He entered his home, defeated. He now had to go out and find the ingredients he needed and push back that nights meal. He only hoped Link wouldn't be too upset.

The Hylian hopped down from his spot on the hammock and tilted his head upon seeing the clothes in Revali's wings. Revali simply told Link to put the clothes on, he'd be a lot warmer. Link obliged and took the clothes from Revali as he explained that dinner would be pushed back a bit so he could go out and get the proper things needed. He didn't know how long it would take him but he hoped Link wouldn't be patient. Link rolled his eyes.

"I'll help." He whispered, pulling the snow quill armor over his Champion's Tunic. "Just tell me what I need to get." Revali blinked, mulling over the idea in his head. For a moment he was considering declining Link's offer, after all Link was the guest here! But he supposed if Link helped it would speed things up...and it could be a nice rest from doing his knightly duties and worrying about the princess. Finally, Revali sighed and agreed. He listed everything Link needed to get as he grabbed his bow one more and a suitable amount of arrows. When the instructions are given, Revali wishes Link good luck in finding his items before flying out of the house.

Tabantha wheat and acorns were all that Link needed to get. When he pulled on the warm pants and boots he hurried out of Revali's house, fixing the blue scarf. Tabantha wheat was easy, the stuff was growing practically  _everywhere_  in the Tabantha region! Link simply ran down to the entrance of the Rito Village and cut up nice big handfuls of the wheat, stuffing it in the bag Revali had given to Link so he could carry the food. Next up was the acorns. This wasn't as easy as the first item. Link walked to the stable and asked the merchants staying there if they had any, sadly they all said no. Now Link was forced to walk farther down the path and really scavenge for the acorns. He was starting to feel like a squirrel.

Finally, Link had gathered all the needed ingredients and began heading back. As he set the things down in Revali's home he saw the blue-feathered Rito flying gracefully in the air. He seemed to be circling something in the water. Link, intrigued, leaned against the wall and watched Revali. Of course Revali noticed Link and did upped his little act.

When Revali spotted three good sized fish he quickly flew up higher before dive-bombing towards the water. He quickly pulled out his infamous bow and shot all three fish. Before Revali hit the water he changed direction and was now gliding along the water. He tilted his head to the side as he began approaching the three dead fish and, using the arrows that stuck out of them, grabbed them with his beak. The Rito then flew straight up again, doing a little loop-de-loop, and landed himself on a ledge in front of Link. He took the three fish out of his beak and bowed as Link clapped, clearly amazed.

"Impressive, I know. I was chosen as a Champion for a reason." Revali hopped off the ledge and took the bag of supplies from Link. He told Link that dinner would be ready soon before hurrying out the door to the Rito Village's kitchen. Link shrugged, he would've been happy to help with the cooking as well, and waited for the meal. Not long after Revali had run off, he returned to his home while carrying plates in his wings. He had cooked the two of them some slightly spicy Salmon Meunière with a rather tasty Nutcake as desert. Revali even flew over to a village in the Hebra region to purchase some rather refreshing wildberry juice. Before Link could even get a good look at the plates set down on the desk in front of him, Revali put a hand up and told him to wait a second longer. He hopped back on the ledge he stood on earlier and reached up, untying two knots which caused two seats to drop down. Only they were different than normal seats, they were similar to Revali's hammock bed only they were, obviously, shorter in length. But still they were seats nonetheless.

"I figured we could dine while staring out at the beautiful scenery this night hast to offer us." The Rito Champion said with a bit of a smug smile on his face. He certainly was right, the night was lovely. Link smiled and nodded, taking a seat and facing towards the opening in the large opening in the wall. Revali pulled his desk towards them a bit before handing Link his plate and sitting himself down. They ate in a comfortable silence for a little while, enjoying the food and the scenery and each other's company. Revali was the first to break it.

"So..." The Rito Champion pushed his half finished food around on the plate. "What do you think of the meal?" He glanced over at Link, who was trying his very best to gulp down the big forkfuls of salmon he had shoveled into his mouth. Revali snorted. "Take your time." After a moment of rapid chewing, Link swallowed and turned to Revali with the biggest grin on his face.

"I think it's delicious." Link said aloud, the grin not leaving his face. 

"O-Of course it is." Revali said matter-of-factly.  He was slightly flustered, yet he didn't quite understand why. "I am a rather excellent cook, that's just one of my many talents." Link laughed and went back to his food, looking out at the nigh scenery with a soft smile on his face. 

The moonlight danced on Link's features, making his icy blue eyes even more vibrant than before. The soft night breeze moved his dirty blond, his hair moving like a vibrant golden beauty. The Hylian Champion began swinging slowly in his hammock-chair, letting out a relaxed sigh. Link looked so serene in this moment, so beautiful. Revali smiled fondly at the sight and in that moment it hit him; he was hopelessly in love with Link.

- 

The next morning, Revali awoke when the small bit of sunlight peeked through a crack in his curtains and shone on his eyes. He let out a sleepy groan and hopped down from his hammock, stretching his wings. Link was still asleep. They had encountered a slight problem in sleeping arrangements the night before, there was one hammock and two of them. Link insisted they simply sleep in the same one, he didn't mind. The thought alone was enough to make Revali's feathers fluff out completely in embarrassment, he looked like a flustered blue cloud! Eventually the Rito Champion found an old hammock buried deep in some forgotten drawer in his home.

Revali yawned and rubbed his eyes before beginning his morning routine. He began putting on his armor, wearing an old scarf in place of his Champion's Scarf, and smoothing out his feathers in the process. When he was properly dressed he quietly slipped out and headed to the village's kitchen. It was too early in the morning for most people to be awake, families slept comfortably in their homes. The village's warriors, however, were already awake and flying around the village, protecting the sleeping citizens.

Link woke up when Revali had returned with some meaty rice balls. The two talked while eating their breakfast. Link asked if Revali would show him more on handling a bow, he was okay at the moment but he wanted to be better. Hesitantly, Revali agreed but he made Link promise that they wouldn't be out there  _all_  day. This was a day off for the both of them after all.

When they were both ready, Link hopped onto Revali's back and they flew to the Flight Range, Revali's personal training area. The cold air stung Link's cheeks, he pulled Revali's Champion's Scarf up to cover the bottom half of his face. Revali landed on a landing and quickly walked into the Flight Range's break room. It was noticeably warmer in there despite there technically being no walls. Link hopped off of Revali's back and looked around in awe.

"We'll keep it simple." Revali started as he dug around in a nearby chest, pulling out a swallow bow. "I'll see how well you shoot and we'll go from there." Link nodded and took the bow in his hands, Revali had set up a target inside so the poor Hylian wouldn't be as cold. Link aimed and fired the arrow, it wasn't a bulls-eye hit but it landed on the target. Revali groaned and immediately began lecturing him.

That went on for quite some time. Link would shoot an arrow, Revali would lecture, Link would shoot another arrow while keeping the things Revali had told him in mind, and Revali would lecture him again. After a while he then made Link shoot, while standing still, at a target a bit farther away. When Revali deemed Link to be more or less proficient in shooting an arrow while still, he upped the ante. 

Link was riding around slowly on Revali's back, bow and arrow in hand. The Rito Champion was circling around the Flight Range slowly. This practice was just to see how well Link could shoot with movement. Surprisingly enough, Link hit the target dead on. Revali, again, stepped it up. He flew faster and would make sudden drops or fly up without warning. Then he told Link to attempt to hit more than one target at once (Revali had graciously allowed Link to borrow The Great Eagle Bow). After several failed attempts Revali landed for a brief second, allowing Link to hop off of his back, before he flew out once more. 

"Now I know you weren't blessed with wings like I have," Link rolled his eyes, "but still, watch and learn!" The Rito Champion flew low into the pit where the harder to reach targets were. As Link peered down he saw explosions follow Revali as he flew up higher and higher. As he was nearing the top once more, Revali willed the winds to help him soar higher up. When it looked like the blue-feathered Rito was among the clouds, he quickly came down. 

To Link it looked like he had miraculously stopped time, but only on himself. Revali was upright, wings busy with the bow and arrows so he should've been descending at a frightening speed but no, he seemed to be almost floating. Then, he let the last few bomb arrows fly and hit their targets before his speed returned to normal.

Revali gracefully landed in front of Link, a proud smile on his face.

"And now you know why I'm the best archer among the Rito." He said. Link didn't answer, he had the dopiest smile on his face and, if such a thing were possible, stars in his eyes. He was amazed. "What? Were my skills so amazing that you can't even sign a response?" Revali chuckled.

"Yes." Link said finally. "To be kind of honest, I didn't expect you to be that skilled. I knew you were good but  _wow_."

"I'm offended." The Rito walked back inside, Link following him. "Of course I would be that good. Why else would I be a Champion."

The remainder of their time at the Rito Village was spent doing touristy things; looking at the local sights, buying things from the shops, meeting the Rito Elder, those kinds of things. When the time came for the two of them to start their trip back to Hyrule Castle Link didn't want to leave. But Revali forced Link to change back into his Champion's Tunic and pack up the snowquill armor along with any food he wanted to take. While the Hylian Champion did that, Revali took this time to fly up to the Elder's roost to announce his leave.

"It was a pleasure seeing you again, my boy." The Elder cooed as he rocked back and forth on his chair. "The Princess is working you to death I hear. I suppose it's to be expected given the situation we're in." Revali nodded. "I hope your training has been going well, and I'm wondering when we'll all be able to see the Divine Beast in action." 

"Well I currently have the thing parked deep in the Hebra region as to not disturb anyone. I'm still working on my bond with it but I can control it fairly well. I suppose with the Princess' permission I could have it idly fly around the village." Kaneli laughed happily and nodded.

"Yes, yes, that would be wonderful." The Elder sighed happily and paused for a moment, looking Revali up and down before speaking again. "I see the Hylian Champion returned your scarf to you." Revali stayed silent, attempting to keep his embarrassment from showing. "You two seem quite friendly with one another. Quite friendly indeed."

"Yes, well, as Champions we have to be...friendly." Revali rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Mhmm. Of course you do. Your lives depend on each other out on the battlefield! But you know that is not the "friendly" I was referring to." Kaneli peered over at Revali, an amused smile on his face. 

"No offense, and honestly I only dare say this because we're so close, but you've gone mad." The Rito Champion huffed and crossed his arms. "Just because I brought him here and because he and I have become friends doesn't automatically mean there is " _something_ " going on you know. Besides, if I've never experienced  _any_  kind romantic emotion or even expressed any how would  _you_  know what my feelings for Link are, eh?"

"Because," The Elder stopped rocking, "It's a guardian's intuition. I did raise you after all, I know things about you that you may not even know." Revali grumbled and focused his attention some books on a nearby shelf. "Now I'm not saying you should pursue any sort of relationship yet-"

"Which I won't do because that is so obviously not my intentions."

"-But you should continue to be his friend." Kaneli hummed quietly. "It's nice that you found someone to talk to, Revali. You always were the kind to close yourself off. Of course I can understand why but doing so wouldn't help you in the long run. But i'm glad you found him. Please keep this friend close."

"...I plan to." Revali said finally. "Well, I suppose I better be off. Link and I need to get back to the castle before it gets too late."

"Yes, yes. Good bye my dear boy. Take care, good luck, I will see you soon." Revali nodded and turned around to leave, but as he was walking out of the Elder's home he called out again. "Oh, and I would reconsider my "intentions" if I were you! With the way the Hylian Champion looks at you, it is apparent he is seeking out a relationship with you." 

Revali stopped dead in his tracks.

"What...?" The blue-feather Rito turned around to face the now chuckling Elder. "What do you mean 'the way he looks at me.'? How does he look at me?"

"Well," Kaneli resumed rocking in his chair, "perhaps you should start paying more attention to this boy. Maybe then you'll understand both his feelings and your own."

- 

"Are you ready, Link?" Revali asked from the doorway. Link was laying leisurely in Revali's hammock, hands behind his head and eyes closed. 

"Yes." The Hylian said aloud. He had been speaking an awful lot more these past couple of days. "You know, I really enjoy the Rito Village. I love the weather, the scenery," Link opened and eye and looked over at Revali and smiled, "the people. It truly is an amazing place." He jumped down and placed the sheathed Master Sword on his back. "One of these days, I'd love to live her. Perhaps in the future, when everything has settled down." He slung a bag over his shoulders and walked over to Revali. "Who knows, maybe I'll come live with you!" 

"Perhaps." The two began walking up to the landing Revali always used. "But if you're to live with me you have to get better archery. I was far too frustrated earlier, I won't be able to handle all of that every single day for the rest of my life." Link laughed and Revali smiled.

When they reached the landing, Link hopped onto the Rito Champion's back. When he was ready he gave Revali a thumbs up and held on tight. The two of them were thrown into the air and were on their way back to Central Hyrule. Throughout their flight Link would point down at things he found interesting and would talk about his schedule for the upcoming weeks. And while Revali did engage in conversation with the Hylian Champion, his mind continued to wander back to what the Elder had said. 


	6. Mother Knows Best

The flight back home had been peaceful and Link rather enjoyed it. This time he was actually awake to see Hyrule from a rito's point of view.

Link loved nature. He loved Hyrule's beautiful nature. He loved the green grassy hills, the flower patches, the large forests. He loved the lakes that could stretch for miles. He loved the mountains that made you feel as if you were on top of the world. He loved the many natural foods. He loved the animals. He loved the  horses and dogs and birds.

Especially the birds

Link had long ago accepted the fact that he held secret feelings for the Rito Champion, Revali. He didn't know what it was about Revali that drew Link in and, to be perfectly honest, Link didn't care.

He had to admit, he was somewhat shocked that the Rito Champion had so suddenly invited him to a rather nice mini-vacation out to the Rito Village. Link partially believed it was because the rito were proud folk, they loved their village and wanted  _everyone_  to know it. Another, smaller and quieter part of him believed-  _hoped_ \- it was because maybe Revali wanted to spend a bit of alone time with Link.

Link shook the thought out of his head when he realized where he was.

"-and since you're her appointed knight I suppose tonight you're eating with her and the king." Revali spoke with a sigh as he walked with Link into the castle. Crap. He had forgotten that the Champions were eating a different time tonight.

The Hylian nodded, mentally praising himself for playing it cool and not letting Revali know he only paid attention to the last half of his sentence.

"I suppose I'll see you another time then." Revali slowed his walk down as they approached the hallway that lead to the Dining Hall. Link nodded hesitantly, standing awkwardly. He didn't know what to do in this situation. He had just spent most of his free day and night with the Champion he had hopeless feelings for and he isn't sure whether it's appropriate to hug him or not. They just didn't teach Link these things in knight school. "I'll admit, I had a lot of fun with you this past day." Revali adjusted his scarf and looked to the side. "Even if your archery skills are sloppy and you snore rather loudly in your sleep." Link snorted.

"I had fun with you too, Revali." Link took a step closer to the rito and placed a hand on his feathery shoulder, smiling widely with big blue beautiful eyes. "I'll definitely see you soon." With that, Link turned around and began walking to Zelda's study, a warm blush on his cheeks.

-

Dinner was tense and Link hated it. He stood behind Zelda's chair as she ate silently, stabbing her fork into the poor food. Her father, the King, was reminding her of her royal duties to Hyrule. She  _must_  access her sealing powers, she  _must_  train harder, she  _must_  pray harder,  _she_   _must_. Meanwhile Impa, who had joined dinner without an invite, continued to remind the King that Zelda was just a child. Zelda was trying her best. Zelda has no control when her powers would awaken. Zelda was doing everything in her power to protect the kingdom. Eventually, the King stopped questioning and pressuring his daughter and returned his attention to his food. The Sheikah leader smirked victoriously, winked at the Princess of Hyrule and swished the wine in her wine glass.

Impa was very well respected by the King. The Sheikah Clan was rumored to be a literal gift from the Goddess, fierce warriors and very knowledgeable scientists. They've protected the royal family for generations and have recorded Hyrule's history. Impa knew all this, and she also knew that the King wouldn't want to accidentally cause any sort of friction that would end in the Sheikah reclaiming all they've done to help in the fight against the Calamity. So, when Impa spoke and said things that no ordinary person would even dream to tell the King, he kept his cool and let it slide.

"Link." The King's voice broke the awkward silence. He didn't even bother to look up from his gourmet meal before continuing. "I heard that you and the the Rito Champion- Revali is it?-  took advantage of Impa's...stubbornness and visited the Rito Village." Link could feel his ears beginning to burn. "He's quite the remarkable archer isn't he? Quite the archer..." Link kept his eyes forward and face still.

"Link is an amazing archer as well." Impa commented. Her eyes flickered to Zelda for a second, a devilish smile spreading. "As is the Princess." Zelda's fork clattered loudly against her plate, she sat perfectly still with her hand still halfway to her mouth. Although Link couldn't see her face he knew that the Princess' green eyes were wide open and staring blankly in front of her. Her skin had surely gone a few shades paler and her mouth most definitely hung wide open from shock.

_"What?"_ The King glared over at his daughter and Impa put a hand up, immediately stopping whatever thought he was having.

"Before you begin your lecture allow me to explain." Impa stood up and placed both hands on the still-shocked Princess' shoulders. "You know as much as I do that princesses in the past have fought vigorously to secure the safety of their home. You yourself were forced to read the ancient texts before you were even allowed to marry her majesty the Queen."

"I don't see what that has anything to do with this." The King glared daggers at Impa. Impa smiled slightly and continued.

"The Princess of the Era of the Hero of Time. She held a powerful tool- instrument- in her hands. She entrusted it to the hero. When it was time for the next half of the hero's journey she did not sit around and wait. She disguised herself as a member of the Sheikah Clan and continued her fight for peace. The Princess of the Era of the Hero of Twilight. When a closed seemingly evil, dark world that was closed off for years reopened and invaded her home she stood proudly by her soldiers with a sword in her hand. When the Princess of the Twilight laid dying in front of her, she gave her life for her. When it came time to fight off the cursed evil that was Ganondorf, she fought right alongside the hero and shot that vile villain with the bow of light. That very bow has been passed down for generations to every single princess Hyrule has known. They have archery in their blood, they have the wisdom of the Goddess Nayru in their minds, they have the spirit of Hylia."

"Get to the point, Impa."

" _Gladly._ " Impa gave Zelda's shoulders a tight squeeze. "I allowed Zelda to wield the bow of light. With her touch the holy weapon glowed and changed its form. It recognized her as its next owner. Her first shot was near perfect. I'm sure with the help of the Rito Champion she can have archery mastered in-"

" _No_." The King stood up abruptly. "No archery. No guardians. No more playing scholar or  _solider!_ "

Impa studied the man's face and nodded hesitantly. She tapped Zelda's shoulder and the hylian Princess immediately stood up and hurried out the door. Link followed closely. The last thing he heard before he had to begin chasing Zelda down the castle's long halls was Impa tell the King that Zelda's late mother would be very disappointed and saddened by this decision.

-

The night's earlier events left a bitter taste on Link's tongue. He hated having to have witnessed such a heated argument, having to have witnessed the King be wrong and still grasp for some kind of power over the Sheikah leader.

Link sighed and rubbed his temple. He was just glad Impa took pity on him and sent him away for the night.

A hearty laugh echoed down the dimly lit hallway. Link glanced up to see a couple of soldiers standing outside a closed door. The knight stood there for a moment, just staring at the door. He was considering going back to his own room, he was tired and just wanted to put that night's events behind him, but the loud laugh had some sort of gravitational pull and the next thing Link knew he was walking straight towards the closed doors. The two soldiers guarding the closed room didn't even blink an eye as Link opened up the door and walked in.

The atmosphere was significantly different from the one at dinner. It was comfortable and welcoming, the warmth of light of the fire place only added onto that heavenly feeling. Link instantly felt as if all previous worry had melted away, his fatigue had miraculously gone away and a smile plastered itself on his face. Urbosa and Daruk sat comfortably, talking and enjoying each other's company. Urbosa noticed Link standing silently near the door and beckoned him over.

"Ah there's the little guy!" Daruk smiled as Link pulled a nearby chair over. "It's been a while! I heard the Princess has been working you day and night!" Link smiled and shrugged. "Gee, I hope she doesn't go too hard on you! You may be the hero of legend but you're still so  _tiny_." Link smiled again. He liked Daruk. He liked how the Goron would worry over him constantly, afraid that Link would hurt himself because he was "small". It felt nice to have someone worry about him. 

His mind flickered to Revali for a moment.

Right. He now had two someones worrying for him. One being a Rito that was probably way out of Link's league.

"He'll be fine." Urbosa hummed as she got into a more comfortable position. "I've trained with the boy, the Sheikah leader put us in a sort of...duel against one another." The Gerudo Chief smirked. "I must say, I am quite impressed. He was able to beat me." Daruk grinned widely and patted Link's shoulder ( _gently_ ) with a ginormous hand. "I'm sure with him on our side and those Divine Beasts, the Calamity Ganon will stand no chance." 

Link liked Urbosa. The strong Gerudo woman was a force to be reckoned with. She was powerful and loved among her people. She kept the Yiga Clan at bay and just glowed with a sort of...motherly air. When times were tough and Link or the other Champions felt as if they couldn't take another step, Urbosa was there to raise them back up. Link liked that about her, she reminded him much of his mother.

"How was dinner?" Urbosa already knew the answer but seeing Link wince only confirmed it. She sighed and crossed her arms. "I knew it. He can't leave the poor girl alone. If her mother was here..." Urbosa trailed off and looked at the fire. "Our Princess is strong. Her powers will awaken in time, for now she will work hard whether it be by following the King's silly training or researching the ancient technology we are all relying on."

Silence fell between the three of them. Link stared at his feet. He had started his day off so wonderfully. Breakfast and the cool air of the Rito Village. A beautiful sunrise, the lovely view of a green forest next to a snow white one. A rather entertaining archery lesson by the master himself and then getting to spend a few hours pressed up against the Rito and happily enjoying the sights. Hylia how he wished he could just go back to that.

"So how was your day with Revali." It was as if Daruk read Link's mind. 

Link chuckled nervously and nodded in response. He didn't know why he felt so nervous, it wasn't like something had happened. _Nothing had happened._

"I must admit it was a surprise." There was a hint of a smirk in Urbosa's voice. Link decided not to look at her, he knew his ears would go red if he did. "Seeing you ride on his back and being flown off..." Daruk laughed. "I don't believe he would ever even think to let the  _Princess_  ride on her back. You must've felt honored. And I assumed he invited you to stay in his own home and spent a better part of his visit home with you. It must've been...interesting. Fun in its own way." Urbosa tilted her head and glanced down at the small hylian knight who was trying his best not to look at her.

Urbosa studied Link's face, his ears had betrayed him and were burning a deep red. She smiled and leaned back before placing a hand on Link's shoulder. Link slowly looked up.

"You know, in times like these it is best to do things that make you happy. We never know when our next moment may be our last what with the ever growing threat against the kingdom. It's best to spend as many happy moments with those you love." Link's cheeks were now turning the same color as his ears. "But, in order to have those happy moments with the one you love you have to find them. You've found your person. Now all you need to do is..." Link thought for a second and nodded slowly. The Gerudo Chief smiled . "Farore blessed you with courage, perhaps it is time you use it for something other than risking your life."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a scrapped version of this chapter available [here](https://heroofhyrulelink.tumblr.com/scrappedchapter6ARINGAR) if anyone is interested in reading it!


	7. Preparation is Key...Unless You're Impulsive

Months passed. The Champions gained control of their Divine Beasts and could pilot them with ease. Each of the mechanical monsters' weapons were studied and mastered. Each Champion was made their own set of ancient armor that would provide extra protection against the ancient evil that was the Calamity. A battle plan was being created by the greatest minds of Hyrule to stop the evil from spreading.

Link was making his own battle plans as well.

In the time between him spending two days with Revali and now, Link had thought up a million different ways of confessing his feelings. His mind wandered to the night he and Revali had shared surrounded by fireflies, perhaps he could try and recreate that moment? But how would it be special? No no no, it had to be something new. A new memory they could share and cherish forever. Something unforgettable. 

But what?

That question bounced around in his mind time and time again. Whenever he happened to catch sight of the Rito Champion working his tail-feathers off his mind instantly gave Link a picture of some kind of romantic situation, something he secretly wished for but could only obtain if and only if he managed to come up with a proper way to confess. 

_It's sunrise at Link's farm in Hateno. The cuccos are up and demanding they be fed. The horses and cows are waiting patiently to be led out of their respective shelters to go out and enjoy the morning sun. Link would roll (literally) out of bed so he could go and do his daily chores. Revali would stay in bed for just a little while longer. Link would smile tiredly and bend down to give the Rito a kiss on the temple before tending to the animals._

_It's the middle of the day but no one would be able to tell, dark clouds would cover the sky and rain would fall. The Champions and the Princess were travelling when they were suddenly ambushed by the Yiga Clan. Urbosa was quick and summoned some lightning, causing the enemies to jump away but they did not give up. She told Revali and Link to fight off the Yiga while she and Daruk escorted the Princess to safety and they did just that. Now that the two were tired and ready to collapse they heard the loud stomps of a nearby lynel. The two Champions looked at each other and came to the silent conclusion that that wasn't the time to fight but to run. Link would grab Revali's wing and pull him through the rain until he couldn't run any farther, they collapsed behind a giant boulder. They'd be panting and half-dead, Link would still be holding onto Revali's wing. In the thrill of the moment Link would take the chance, risk it all, and lean over to quickly plant a kiss on the side of the rito's beak. Revali's feathers would fluff up and he would stutter out how Link chose the worst possible time to do that._

_It's sunset at the Rito Village. The air was slightly chillier than before but Link didn't mind. He wore the protective clothing Revali had bought him some time ago and leaned against the opening of Revali's home waiting for a certain blue-feathered rito to return. As if on cue, Revali's flying form appeared in the distance. Link smiled as he got closer and closer. Revali landed gracefully just on the ledge just in front of Link. He bowed, saying something about how skilled his flying skills were. As Link chuckled and rolled his eyes at the comment Revali took this opportunity to lean down and nuzzle Link's cheek with his beak. The hylian's ears went red and the rito winked mischievously._

These scenes, and many more, played in his head over and over and over again. At times Link would catch himself accidentally staring at Revali while he daydreamed. Thankfully Revali never noticed (at least that's what Link thought).

He had to get this out of his system but how? Link had no clue, he came up with plans and ideas and strategies. He came up with romantic settings where everything was perfect and the moment would be remembered forever but they were just ideas. They were just in his head. He would never be able to find a day where the two of them would be alone. He would never have a day where the sunset looked like a sea of purple and pink. He would never be able to find the perfect moment, the perfect time, where there was no fear and no threat of destruction over them. Where it didn't feel like everyone was holding their breaths and waiting for  _it_  to happen. Where Link would be assured that if he told Revali then he wouldn't have to worry about the future.  _Damn_. But there was a part of Link that just wanted to rush to the rito and tell him the next time they saw another because if not now then  _when_?

_'This is okay,'_  Link thought to himself one morning as he accompanied Zelda to Kakariko Village,  _'I can figure this out, I just have to plan. I can't just rush forward. I have to prepare before I can tell Revali that I-'_

The Hylian Knight's train of thought was interrupted when he bumped into Impa's front door. Zelda giggled and reminded Link that just because he could plow through a horde of monsters with little effort that that didn't mean he could just walk through closed doors with the same amount of effort. Link smiled slightly and nodded as he opened up the door for the princess.

Waiting inside was Impa, Robbie, and Purah. These three were the ones who knew all of Hyrule like the back of their hand and they were the three that came up with most of the battle plans. Of course the Champions were included and as was the King and the leaders of the smaller towns but those three were the true masterminds behind Hyrule's defenses and careful preparation. 

The two joined the others at the table set up in the middle of the room. A rather large map was displayed with several small and poorly carved wooden figures. They made idle conversation while they waited for the four pilots to arrive. Once everyone was ready and seated (Revali had taken the seat besides Link and subtly moved his chair  _sliiiightly_  closer) Impa clapped her hands and began the meeting.

It was long and rather boring. Most of the details discussed were already talked about in previous meetings. Urbosa had unlocked Naboris' electric powers, Daruk had learned how to use Rudania's resistance to lava to defend Goron City, Mipha discovered that Ruta could go underneath the water and and could move considerably faster and move closer to the castle if needed, and Revali managed to unlock Medoh's force field with protective cannons. 

Impa praised the Champions and their accomplishments before moving onto the next subject.

Robbie gave an update on the ancient weapons. He brought a sword, a spear, and a shield to demonstrate. He also managed to snag three of the broken down guardian scouts from underneath the King's nose and rebuild them. Link was used to demonstrate the power of these three weapons as Robbie explained. When the three scouts were back to a broken down mess, Purah stepped up and began speaking. It wasn't easy but she managed to activate some of the Guidance Stones and pedestals they dug up. With Zelda's help they realized that they were designed specifically for the Sheikah Slate and while Purah still didn't know what they did she knew they would hold something of importance. On top of that, Purah was working on replicating the Sheikah Slate so each of the Champions could have their own.

Impa had gone after her sister, simply stating that she was working on possible escape routes and means of hiding with the leaders of the four sub-kingdoms as well as the leaders of the villages. She was also checking in every so often on the training the soldiers of Hyrule were receiving.

"Before we part ways," Impa said as the meeting came to a close, "There is something I need to discuss with Revali." The others nodded and bade their farewells, leaving Impa alone with Zelda, Revali, and Link. 

The Sheikah leader waited a full minute after everyone departed to bring out the Bow of Light. It was glowing a brilliant golden light which only got brighter the closer it got to the Princess. Impa set it down on the table and turned to the rito Champion.

"It's no secret that you're a master archer." Revali smirked and nodded. "On the short time you were with Link his skills improved greatly." 

"Well  _of course_  they did." Revali stood a bit straighter and puffed out his chest. Link chuckled quietly and rolled his eyes. "Like you said I'm a master archer. And," A wing wrapped around Link's shoulders and pulled him closer before proudly boasting, "Link isn't so bad himself." 

_'Hylia.'_  was all Link could think. His heart was racing and his ears were burning red. 

Link couldn't hear the rest of the conversation, his heartbeat was drumming in his ears and his mind was on other things. When the other three began walking out of Impa's house and down the path to a nearby field Link had to force himself to jump back into reality.

"Thank you again for doing this." Impa said as she walked arm in arm with the Princess towards Medoh who was resting flat on its stomach. "The King wants Zelda to do nothing with this magical weapon but this is a war and she has every right to try and protect her home in any and every way possible." 

"And please remember that Father believes I'm simply making preparations to visit one of the springs so please do not mention this at all."

"No need to worry, Princess." As Revali stepped closer Vah Medoh began glowing to life and a staircase appeared step-by-step out of the giant bird's wing. "I'll be sure to keep your secret safe."

-

Impa's plan was to quietly "kidnap" Zelda, so to say. Using Vah Medoh they would travel out to the Rito Village where the four of them would spend the next five days. Revali would train Zelda with archery and Impa would train Zelda with the immense power of the Bow of Light. They would rest for one day and the next day would be spent on what Impa called "spiritual training" that was exclusive to the Princess. Impa had already contacted Kaneli about these plans and preparations were being made as they spoke. The three hylians were to sleep at the Inn throughout the duration of their stay so Revali didn't have to worry about that, for meal times they would either use the kitchen or go down to the Rito Village Stable and buy something to eat.

Revali listened to the Sheikah leader drone on about her careful plans made to ensure the safety and comfort of the Princess before she began droning on about what she hoped the Princess would gain from this. Revali respectfully excused himself from the conversation to go ease Medoh into the sky, they had been on the Divine Beast for approximately fifteen minutes and the whole time was Impa talking about plans. 

With a flap of his wings and a sigh of relief Revali flew up to the control point on the very top of Medoh. Admittedly he didn't have to do this, he had a spiritual and mental connection to the giant mechanical bird, he could have willed the Divine Beast up from his spot with Impa, but he liked being outside especially during the times of twilight. He smiled at the beautiful sky as he laid a wing on the panel. It hummed and began glowing orange then blue. Medoh shrieked and Revali had just enough time to head back inside. 

Zelda's excited ramblings echoed throughout the beast and Revali made the conscious decision to head in the opposite direction. He figured he might as well spend some time gazing out at the evening's sky through Medoh's eyes so he flew up the the Divine Beast's head. He wasn't the only one with this same idea however. 

Link stood silently, staring out of Medoh's eyes and to the perfect sky that looked like a sea of pink and purple. Revali stood besides him. 

"A whole week." Link murmured, not taking his eyes off the sky once. "A whole week of training."

"Yes. I must admit, I am looking forward to it. It's not everyday that I get to teach the Princess of Hyrule how to wield an ancient bow." Link hummed in response, a small smile playing on his lips. 

They stood in silence for a short while. Link stared at the sky and Revali stared at Link. In his mind Revali heard Kaneli's voice. The old man's soothing and encouraging voice telling him to reconsider his intentions. And for a second a burst of courage shot through him. He stopped thinking about how odd it was that this reckless hylian managed to snag his attention. He stopped thinking about how he was scared that Link may reject him or how he may push him away. Instead, he just  _did_.

"Link." Link turned to face Revali, his head tilted. For a brief second panic shot through him, he didn't know what to say, what to do. This wasn't the time. They were in the middle of a war for Hylia's sake! But the feeling didn't last long and the courage shot through him once again. Is this how Link constantly felt?

The Rito Champion stepped forward and embraced Link tightly. His feathers were fluffing up and his armor covered body didn't make the hug comfortable at all. Link's ears were pressed against neck and he could feel the heat of his blush coming off them.

"This may sound completely and insanely strange and this probably is not the right time to confess this, but, I have feelings for you and I thought you should know." 

Link didn't speak, he didn't need to. His arms slowly rising up to wrap tightly around Revali was response enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i took so long to update! good news is it's spring break so I'll hopefully write this week and update sooner! hope you like the chapter! ^u^


	8. Quiet Before The Storm

The cold stung his cheeks but after spending four days out in the Rito Village, Link has learned to live with it. It could've be worse, after all, he could've been facing the wind in whatever weak potion Impa cooked up in a rush instead of wearing the protective Rito clothing a certain Champion had graciously bought him.

"You're doing better, a lot better than before, but you need to get used to the weight of the bow." Revali was scolding Zelda for the fifth time in an hour. "The weight of the bow is affecting your aim, I'm going to need you to  _really_  work on that weight training. If you can't properly hold your bow you'll never be able to face Ganon." Hylia, Link wished the training day would end soon. Then he could steal glances at Revali on their walk back to the Rito Village. Then once they all get to the village and the group parts ways...Link could mentally slam his head on a desk for not talking to Revali about the other day's events.

Okay so he hasn't spoken to Revali  _at all_  since their feelings were known. Partly because Link was upset that Revali had confessed first and partly because Link didn't think he would ever make it this far. He didn't know what to say then and he still doesn't know what to say now. Their hug had ended prematurely, Zelda's excited babbles began getting closer and closer. Revali hesitantly broke away from Link's embrace and flew off in another direction. Zelda and Impa found the poor hylian boy staring at the distance with a face redder than an apple.

"Well I'm sure once I unlock the ancient magic, the Bow of Light will...act accordingly, right?" Zelda looked hopefully at Impa and continued to talk. "It'll...it...it's own power will...activate and the whole thing will be lighter than it is now. I'm sure that's it, yes, with the power of the Goddess Hylia the Bow of Light will reach it's full potential and it will become lighter?" Impa shrugged, she really didn't know how the bow would react to Zelda unlocking her powers. True, once the power is there the arrows will be infused with it but would it be lighter? Who knew.

"Well if that is or isn't true you can't rely on that." Revali crossed his arms and cocked his head to the side, he looked like he was scolding a child. The image made Link smile but the joy was short lived when he suddenly remembered the lack of communication between the two since their  _(extremely wonderful)_  hug and he frowned.

Whatever. It's not like Link even liked the hug anyway. Not like he wanted that single moment to last forever. Not like he wanted it to just be him and Revali alone in Medoh, hundreds of feet in the air where he would finally be able to do all the things he wanted to in the past but couldn't.

...

Link sighed to himself. He really needed to get a grip.

-

The day passed much too slowly. When it was time for the walk home, Link felt as if he'd been standing there keeping guard forever, he was glad they were finally returning.  He and Revali took up the rear, like the past few days, while Impa led Zelda's horse down the snowy path back to the village.

His eyes stared straight ahead, right at the path in front of him. As a personal knight he should be on high alert. Waiting for a group of monsters to attack so he can be fully prepared to protect the Princess. His mind should be clear and focused but it wasn't. Instead he was all too aware of the blue-feathered Champion walking besides him. He wanted to say something, Goddess he wanted to say something, but the words jumbled up in his head. Any kind of conversation starter, a simple  _'How was training today?'_  or  _'The weather is nice.'_  got caught in his throat.

_"Say something, idiot."_  The Hylian thought to himself, keeping his stoic expression plastered onto his face.  _"You can't let this silence go on forever."_  Link glanced over to Revali, who happened to be looking at him at that very moment. They stared at one another for a moment. Link hesitantly and awkwardly nodded at Revali. At least he acknowledged him.

Revali smiled softly.

"Might I just say," the rito's voice was hushed, his words were meant for Link's ears and Link's ears only, "that I quite miss our conversations. These past few days just dragged on without you there to entertain me." Link didn't know what to do or say. His voice refused to work and the sign language he knew so well was suddenly out the window. He nodded instead.

"Although I suppose our lack of communication could easily be solved if we simply...saw each other during the night as opposed to day where no one is there to interrupt us like last time. Perhaps..." Revali has stepped closer to Link, his voice, lowered to a whisper, that sent a chill up the Hylian's spine. "...some sleeping changes can be made. Maybe, if you'd like, you could come and rest in my own home. The hammock you slept on last time is waiting." Link blinked and looked up at the Champion. "Or maybe...if you're up to it, I recently purchased a hammock that can fit two ritos at a time. I'm sure you and I can sleep quite comfortably in it." Link's ears felt hot but he wasn't going to lose his cool just yet. So he shrugged and returned his gaze to the path ahead.

"I'll see if something like that can be arranged." Link mumbled back. Revali chuckled and straightened his posture, looking forward as well. "You know, now's hardly the time to be flirting with me. The Princess is only five feet away."

"You're right, You're right. I should save all my good material for later." Link snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Please, you may be a natural at aiming a bow and arrow but your flirting is subpar."

"Thankfully I have all the time in the world to practice on you, Link." Revali took a step away, back to his original spot on the other side of Zelda's horse, and said nothing else, a smug smile present. Link shook his head, the corners of his mouth turned slightly upward and clearly giving away his happy mood.

The two stayed silent, staring straight ahead. They were like two perfect soldiers, concentration never breaking. On the outside they seemed focused on protecting the Princess in front of them, however both their minds were elsewhere, they were on thoughts of nice long conversations in the comfort of each other's presence and under the privacy of the night.

-

"I have to say, this is kind of unexpected. And weird." Impa was fluffing up a pillow on Zelda's bed, the Princess was currently looking through the Slippery Falcon's stock to see what she could cook herself up for dinner. "But I suppose if that's what you want..." Link stood silent and expressionless. "...are you sure you really want to go and...roam around at night?" Link nodded. Impa sighed. "Alright thing. Have fun I suppose, but please try not to get into too much trouble out there. Zelda still needs a knight." Link nodded, smiling. He bowed to show his appreciation, Impa rolled her eyes, telling him that if he was going to stay out the whole night that he has to at least sleep in the nearby stable before she waved the knight away,

Link walked— speed walked — down the stairs of the Rito Village. As he drew closer and closer he could see Revali's somewhat isolated home. The thick curtains were drawn to a close but some candle light had managed to peak through slim cracks. He smiled and jogged across the bridge, just as he reached the curtain acting as a door, Revali lifted it up and stepped aside so Link could enter. Once the two of them were in the privacy of Revali's roost the rito champion wrapped his wings around the small hylian and lifted him up in a hug.

"I'm glad you're as happy as I am." Link said with a smile on his face and arms wrapped around Revali.

"Yes well," Revali set Link back down, the previous comment had made his feathers fluff up just a bit, "It has been a few days since our last conversation. I'm surprised you managed to survive without me all this time." Link scoffed and rolled his eyes. Turning around, he began walking to the hammock hanging from the ceiling. 

"It's been four days Revali. I can handle four days without basking in your presence. But, I will admit I did miss you. I'm gonna go ahead and assume the feeling is mutual?" 

"Well  _obviously_." Revali had plopped himself down besides Link, an arm around his shoulder as he began slowly rocking the hammock back and forth, back and forth.

There was a short silence, somewhat awkward and at the same time somewhat comfortable. They were enjoying each other's presence in the bit of privacy they had. The gentle rocking and bugs chirping on the outside relaxed them, the warmth of their bodies made them feel at home but there was that uneasiness between them. There was that underlying uncertainty of what they were, there was that fear of asking and not getting the answer either of them was looking for. They tried to ignore those thoughts and feelings, tried to cover up the ringing fear from the pit of their stomachs with the warm fuzzy feeling that lived in their hearts. The two of them, however, knew they'd have to address the  _very_  important question that made them both equally nervous.

Link was the one to break the silence.

"So, where does this leave us?" He adjusted his position so he was facing Revali now, his right leg resting atop the knee of his left, which was rocking with the rhythm of the hammock. "I mean, does what happened between us the other day in Medoh make us...?" Revali stopped rocking the hammock, his eyes were focused on the closed curtain in front of him.

"I would hope...that given my rather abrupt confession you and I would end up in a sort of romantic relationship. If you felt the same way of course, and if you wanted that." The rito kept his eyes forward, he didn't want to look at Link. Why? Nerves? Fear of rejection? Revali didn't know. Bows and arrows, how to make the winds do as he commanded, how to fly an ancient bird-shaped battle ship, those were things he knew. Confronting his feelings was not.

Link hummed thoughtfully.

"The two of us together, we may be the  _most_  the amazing couple in  _all_  of Hyrule." The Hylian flashed a crooked smile and leaned his head against Revali's feathery shoulder. "You and I, two amazing champions.  _Everyone_  would be jealous." He was rubbing Revali's ego to lighten the mood. Revali was grateful for that.

"Well of course." The rito smiled and pulled Link closer, his chest puffing out proudly. "Not only will you and I defeat Hyrule together, we'll look good doing it!" They laughed, all the uneasiness and fear melting away instantly. 

Eventually the candle light was blown out, the hammock that was big enough for two ritos comfortably fit both Link and Revali. The mass of feathers below Link kept him warm from the cool air. The humming and chirping of insects and birds from the outside added to the peaceful feeling. Link let out a relaxed sigh.

"I hope you know that now that you and I are...in this relationship we have to be more careful." Revali said quietly, shifting a bit so he could rest an arm on top of Link's back. "Meaning a certain courage-infused Hylian can't go running off to fight a lynel just because he's bored and you especially can't go run off, when the time comes, to fight whatever evil we may face just because whatever Goddess power you hold tells you you're invincible." 

"Don't you worry a pretty blue feather off your head, Revali." Link replied, the dark hiding the grin on his face. "I promise I'll be more careful."

"Good." The rito champion nodded, satisfied. "I can't have you die while fighting, not when you and I just started our relationship."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things will only get worse from here


	9. Things Didn't Go As Planned

There's an old saying; _"If you're having fun then time will surely pass faster."_  For both Revali and Link, this was most certainly true. Shortly after the two of them had confronted their feelings and had made their relationship official time seemed to pass at a lightning fast speed.

Long, tiring days came and went. Days spent in the severe heat of the Gerudo desert with their respective Divine Beasts, training so all their fighting styles could eventually be completely in sync. Other times there were days where they had to spend hours upon hours fighting against the Royal Guard to sharpen their ground attacks. At the end of those days the four champion's muscles ached and they usually had to be helped into the castle to rest. There were days where they hardly moved a muscle but ended up just as tired. They trained their minds to be in tune with their respective Divine Beast, bonding with their mechanical animals so there would be no misunderstanding in the future fight against evil.

As the days, months, passed Link was worked harder and harder as well. He was thrown into old arenas with hordes of monsters in them, the Champions, Zelda, and the King sat safely in the seats above. They all watched Link as he fought for his life against Bokoblins, Moblins, Hinoxes, and Lynels. He had nothing on his person except the sword of evil's bane. At the end of each fight he would come out half dead; bloody, exhausted, weak, but victorious nonetheless. As he won more and more battles he was put into more and more dangerous ones. Against two, no three!, lynels. Against electric wizzrobes and stalinoxes. Against bokoblins on horses shooting arrows at him while a horde of flaming keese chased him and a lynel roared in his direction.

These battles were sickening, they made Revali feel disgusted every time he was practically forced to watch Link prove himself time and time again that he was Hyrule's hero. Luckily the Rito champion wasn't alone in feeling this, more than once Urbosa gave the king a piece of her mind and more than once did Impa step in when Link was about ready to collapse as he was fighting the last of the electric keese. None of the scoldings changed the King's mind, however, because each time Link won a battle the Master Sword began glowing an even brighter blue and Link looked even more divine than ever.

There was a positive side to all of this. As Link was worked to the bone, as was Zelda. Now this wasn't the upside, the upside was that with the constant orders from the King to  _keep_  training, the two hylians grew closer. Zelda began opening up about her fears of the future, her fears about her place in this battle. Link eventually felt comfortable enough to speak with her, then the rest of the champions. This helped the team's, as well as Link and Revali's relationship, bond grow stronger.

"I see the King is allowing you two a moment's rest." Revali said one semi-quiet evening. Him and the champions had just finished an entire day of meditating and connecting their minds with their respective Beast. To relax he had decided to talk a nice stroll through the castle's garden. "That's quite a surprise."

"Yes well Impa had to intervene." Zelda gave her rito friend a tired smile. "Link and I were about to faint." Link nodded and rubbed the back of his head with his left hand, the hylian almost seemed like he was hiding the other. "I've been exhausting my mind all day attempting to reach out to the Goddess Hylia and her power as well as the ones who had this power before me. And Link... Link has been training...as usual." The two looked slightly uncomfortable. Revali cocked his head.

"I'll just tell you now that I'm fine." Link mumbled as he looked up at Revali's piercing green eyes. "It was my mistake anyways, I shoulda known better what with being  _the_  knight and all ya know?" 

"I hope you realize that stalling will only make me even more upset." Revali stated flatly as he stepped closer to Link and looked at the arm he was hiding. Sure enough Link was injured, his right arm was in a sling and wrapped up in a somewhat bloody bandage. Link laughed nervously and held it out for him to see better.

"It isn't so bad!" Zelda said when her knight tapped her foot with his. "Really, it isn't."

"Alright, I believe that isn't so bad." He didn't. "But why does he have it covered up like that? Why didn't they give him some healing potion?"

"Funny thing about that is...I've been taking too much. The royal physician says that if I keep taking so much my internal organs can suffer some sort of...what was it? Illness?" Link shrugged. "So instead I'm slathering it on once every hour. It works slower but it won't hurt my organs." 

Revali glared at Link, his wings crossed across his chest. Link stared back silently. 

"Well," Zelda stood up quickly, she didn't need any special powers to know when it was time to leave Link to  be scolded by his rito boyfriend, "I'd say the hour is  nearly up. I'll run inside the castle and get your potion Link." The princess scurried inside.

"I suppose you already know what I'm going to say." Revali said as he plopped down besides Link. The sky was turning a nice shade of pink, a nice cool breeze ruffled his feathers. This was starting to make him awfully homesick.

"Yes." Link said flatly. The rito raised an eyebrow. 

"Is something wrong? Usually when I begin to scold you on your recklessness when fighting you wave it away and tell me I'm worrying too much." Link sighed deeply and looked at the sky.

"I suppose I'm feeling...kind of, what's the word? Upset?, after today." Link shrugged nonchalantly. "Like I said, I shoulda known better since I am  _the_  knight. I can't be making mistakes like this, I'm a weapon created specifically for fighting and if I can't even do that right then..." Link dropped his head and stared at his lap. "The, what kind of hero am I? What kind of weapon am I?"

"You aren't a weapon." Revali stated, turning his body so he could look at Link better. "You're a farm boy who had a destiny and immense responsibility shoved onto him before he was a gleam in his father's eye. You're a knight, yes, a champion as well, but not a weapon." Link slowly looked up. Revali hadn't noticed how tired he looked, bags underneath his eyes told Revali that Link hadn't slept properly in a long time and the constant training wasn't exactly helping his energy. "Link, the Divine Beasts are weapons. That sword on your back is a weapon. The bow Zelda wields is one too. But you aren't."

"But the Goddesses-"

"The Goddesses can kiss my feathery ass!" Revali yelled, standing up quickly as he did. "You need to understand that you aren't a weapon! You never were one! You are a person and as a person you make mistakes and you have slip ups. You aren't built for fighting and for fighting only. You aren't the sword." There were tears welling up in Link's eyes now. He wanted to look away but Revali lifted his chin up with his wing. "You are a person who was forced to carry a gigantic burden on his shoulders. You're and amazing fighter and while your fighting is not always going to be perfect you need to know you're still the best damn fighter in all of hyrule and nothing will ever change that. The sooner you accept this the sooner you'll be happy with yourself."

Tears now fully streaming down his cheeks, Link jumped up and attacked Revali with a hug. They stumbled backwards a bit, the sudden embrace caught Revali off guard. He slowly wrapped his wings around Link, his beak resting on Link's head.

A cool breeze ruffled his feathers again and Revali looked up. The sky was now bit more purple now and the moon was visible. The rito smiled as he nuzzled into the hylian's hair, feeling significantly less homesick than before.

"If I'm the best fighter in Hyrule," Link began as he looked up at Revali, "does that mean I'm technically a better archer than you?" The hylian grinned widely as his boyfriend rolled his eyes and sighed.

"You'll be the best archer in Hyrule when I'm dead."

-

Even more months passed. The King was growing more and more restless. The ever present threat of a great evil began taking its toll on his mental health. Zelda's inability to unlock her holy powers only worried him more. Deep down he knew there was only limited things he could do, he could only pray that his daughter unlock her powers before anything happened. He could only be there and support her. Deep down he knew he was powerless in this situation but this didn't stop him from continuing to overwork the poor princess. She stayed hours in freezing cold waters of the Goddess' Springs in the dangerous parts of Hyrule. She would stay locked in her study and pray there. She would pray and pray hoping her powers would come soon. The King knew what he was doing was horrible, he needed to let her rest, but the fear and stress of the situation lead him to command his daughter to spend her upcoming birthday in the Spring of Wisdom.

The rules for this particular spring say that only those aged 17 and above are permitted, for only the wise are allowed. The King had hoped her birthday would be spent doing something more to her liking but desperate times call for desperate measures. And at this point, it has been two years since they have begun preparing for the upcoming war, they  _had_  to be ready.

-

"You two," Urbosa offered a hand to the princess as she was stepping out of the royal carriage, "check the skies and make sure there is a clear path for the princess to take up the mountain." Link and Revali nodding simultaneously. Link was handed an elixir to ward off the cold and the two of them began walking towards Mount Lanaryu. Once at the start of the path, Link chugged the elixir and hopped onto the rito champion's back. Together the two of them took off into the skies.

"So," Revali spoke loudly but even then Link could barely hear him, "Instead of all of us getting a nice day off because it's the princess' birthday, we get to stand around at Mount Lanaryu all day." Link sighed and nodded. " _Amazing_."

"There." Link pointed down at the snowy trail where a small group of Bokoblins were huddled around a fire. Revali nodded and began flying towards the group. "You can drop me here," Link began as he carefully unsheathed the Master Sword and held onto Revali with his other hand, "You go to the top and make your way down. I'll meet you at the middle." Revali nodded in agreement. Link paused for a moment and kissed Revali's feathery cheek before hopping off his back and instantly impaling a bokoblin down below. The Rito nearly dropped from the sky, his heart skipped a beat and his feathers fluffed up just  _sliiightly_. He still wasn't used to expressing physical affection, especially not how a Hylian does, but the small kiss made him feel like he was on top of the world.

Revali willed the winds to work for him and give him a nice boost upward, he was at the very top of the mount in no time. With his specially made bow in his talons and bomb arrows on his back, Revali got to work. He flew down the path in a long, slow circle. The monsters down below threw their weapons up at him but Revali merely dodged the attacks and blew them up. He knew that these creatures weren't the sharpest beings out there but to throw their one defense at their enemy? This was almost too easy.

But something felt off.

Revali didn't know what but these monsters didn't feel, didn't look right. Their eyes seemed different. Almost an odd shade of purpleish-pink. They seemed more careless than ever but more hostile. Revali tried to ignore it, chalked up their abnormalities to how close these foul creatures were to the holy spring.

When all was done Revali landed gracefully at the very middle of the path. Link arrived a few minutes afterward, climbing up the side of the mountain instead of walking up the path like any normal person. When they were reunited Link hopped onto Revali's back and the two flew up into the air and back to the others

Link stayed silent the whole flight down. Something wasn't sitting right with him, something about those monsters was off. For some reason they seemed just a bit stronger than before. They seemed more reckless and more violent. The fights were the same, easy as pie with a darkness sealing sword in his hand, but the way they so willingly ran to battle one after the other even when they witnessed their fellow monsters being slain in front of them, it wasn't right.

_"You're right."_  It was the softest voice but Link heard it over the howling wind. His eyes snapped open and his guard was up. He looked around but no one was there, he was in mid-air of course.  _"Something with them was off and it is because he's here, Master."_  Link looked around again, still finding no one.

"Everything all right back there?" Revali yelled over the wind. Link relaxed and wrapped his arms tighter around the Rito, nodding. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. He kept telling himself the voice he heard was simply paranoia, he's overthinking the whole situation which is only making him hear things. But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen.

-

Link was a beast, a  _Divine Beast_  to say in the least. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he swung the sword of legend and cut through whatever enemy stood in his path. The four Champions stood around the Princess, ushering her through the trail of monster corpses. The rain had begun pelting down and earlier's sunny day had turned cloudy. All around there were echoes of frightful roars, screams, and destruction. Far ahead of them the sky glowed a vibrant, unsettling pink. That's where Ganon was, that's where he had managed to resurrect himself and catch the kingdom off guard.

"Please, Princess," Mipha placed her hand on the small of Zelda's back and pushed her along, "We need to hurry, we need to get to Impa." The Princess continued dragging her feet as Urbosa and Daruk pulled her along. Earlier she experienced her own rush of adrenaline, she was ready for combat. She was prepared to fight Ganon, even if she hadn't managed to unlock her sacred magic in the Spring of Wisdom. She still had the Bow of Light, she could help, she could anything, she could-

"I can't." The Champion's stopped. "I can't...help you all." She looked past them and at the trees, she didn't want to meet any of their eyes. "Let's face it, my earlier outburst was simply due to my inability to sit around and let this happen. But what choice do I have? The Bow of Light won't work against Ganon because I don't have my powers. Without my powers...I'm useless." She clenched her fist and closed her eyes as she fought back tears.

"My dear little bird..." Urbosa let go of Zelda's wrist, instead moving her hands to the princess' shoulders, turning to look at her. "I understand. You're feeling all kinds of emotions right now, but we need to think clearly. You're not useless, you never were. And while you may not have your powers now they may unlock now that they have an actual purpose." The gerudo champion hugged Zelda tightly before continuing. "You may feel small and helpless right now, but understand that you will never be." Zelda allowed her tears to fall down her cheeks as she hugged Urbosa tightly. A sudden guilt seemed to have been gently carried off her shoulders, a weight she didn't know she'd been carrying for the past few years.

The small relief was short lived, however.

The princess replayed that scene in her mind over and over again as Link dragged her roughly through Hyrule. The champions had to leave, they had to help their people, they had to leave and do what they've been preparing for and Zelda is hearing the screeches from the Divine Beasts from miles away. She knows Link can hear them too. He can hear Medoh.

Every single time the damn bird screamed, Link would wince and tears would threaten to spill out of the corners of his eyes. He wants to run to Revali and help, he wants to run to the castle and just defeat the darkness so that this will all be over soon. But he can't. He has a responsibility, he has to follow the plan set by fate. So he keeps running. He keeps running and fighting and trying not to cry as he hears Medoh scream in pain in the far distance. He tries not let himself be distracted by the cries from the other Divine Beasts, from his friends. Instead he allows the burning courage take over his body and guide his sword to the enemies that dared set foot in his path. But every time he raised the Master Sword and used up his holy courage he felt himself weaken. He knew he couldn't continue like this, eventually he would burn himself out, but he didn't stop. Not when he faced a lynel, not when he faced a Guardian gone evil, not when he faced a hinox.

Eventually, the very thought the two hylians dreaded came to be.

They didn't exactly understand how they were able to know this, perhaps it had something to do with their divine connection to the goddesses and in turn the Divine Beasts?, but the question didn't matter. At that very moment both Zelda and Link felt a pain in their heart as they simultaneously heard ear-splitting screeches come from the four corners of Hyrule. Link stopped dead in his tracks as the mental image of the four champions fell to the ground and a pink ooze slowly seeped over their bodies and turned into four terrifying monsters. When the mental image cut off the two looked at the sky and saw pink radiating from the four corners.

Tears started streaming down Link's cheeks, Revali falling out of the sky and crashing on the ground replayed in his mind as he gripped the princess' wrist tightly and continued pulling her through the forest.

-

Running was all they could do now. They had no idea what to do next. Zelda couldn't think of anything and Link was too overcome by emotion to even listen if she did. He was angry, devasted, and scared all at once. The goddess-gifted power ate up those emotions and turned him into a burning machine for fighting. The sword in his hand flowed and cut cleanly through every enemy. He kept running. He stopped crying long ago, he didn't need the princess, anyone to see. This was his burden, this was his responsibility. Keep the princess safe, defeat Ganon.

He kept running.

A roar echoed through Hyrule. In Link's mind it sounded like a taunt, a jab at him. It was Ganon saying  _'I've killed the one you loved, the one who made you a person again. And even if you come and defeat me you will never get him or your friends back.'_  He gripped his sword tighter and ran faster. Zelda was trying to talk to him but he couldn't hear her over the sound of the rain and his heart beat thumping in his ears.

He kept running.

Keep the princess safe. Defeat Ganon. That was his plan. They were nearly to Hateno Forest, Kakariko Village wasn't far from there. Impa would keep Zelda safe while Link did what he was built for. The Divine Beasts all screeched again and Link shut his eyes tightly, forcing himself not to think about the one he lost. Zelda screamed and Link opened them again.

Guardians. Fire. Buildings in ruins. It spread across the field behind the old Dueling Peaks stable. Zelda pulled Link's hand, attempting to force him in another direction but he didn't go. A guardian saw them, then another, then a few more. He let go of the princess and ran towards them. There was fire in his veins and a pain in his heart.

Keep the princess safe. Defeat Ganon.

Keep the princess safe. Defeat Ganon.

Keep the princess safe.

Defeat Ganon.

"Link, please, stop!" Zelda was crying and pulling Link gently. He was crouched on the ground, panting heavily. "You can't keep doing this!" Doing what? He was doing what he was meant to do. Keeping the princess safe.

His body felt like it was on fire. Warm blood stained his dirty blue tunic and made it stick uncomfortably to Link's body. His clothes were ripped up, his hair was out of its pony tail (he was sure some of it actually got burned off), his legs felt like jelly and breathing was a struggle. His eyes threatened to close but Link forced them open. He didn't dare look down at his body again, he had been hurt in every way yet he didn't feel anything. All he could feel was the power burning through him, chanting his responsibility over and over in his mind. The sword was tired, he could feel it. The blade was badly damaged and the glow was gone.

"We have to go Link, we have to go somewhere safe." Zelda continued her pleading but Link stood up on shaky legs, grabbed her hand, and kept running. Another guardian saw them, Link stumbled to a stop, gripping his sword weakly. Zelda was behind him again, begging him to leave her behind and save himself. The Champion's legs buckled as he raised his sword, vision already blurring. The Guardian in front of him perched itself on its dead comrades and got ready to shoot its deadly light.

It never did come.

Something else happened instead. He was shoved aside and a light so bright erupted in front of him. The guardian was down in a second along with many others. The last thing Link saw before he collapsed and fell unconscious was Zelda turning around in front of him, tears in her eyes and looking overjoyed at the use of her holy power.

**Author's Note:**

> Wowie here's that Revalink I promised you guys. Hope you all enjoy this!


End file.
